Archive for white gold jewelry
The 123′s of Jewelry White Gold
Posted by: | CommentsGold was a form of currency before the American Dollar, the Indian Rupee, or the British Pound was even thought of. In fact, gold has been valued as a form of currency almost since it was found. In some parts of the world today it is still used to denote wealth. Rare and very heavy, it has been used throughout the ages as a status symbol for the rich, kings, and merchants alike. Welcome to our little tour into the world of gold. We hope you enjoy it.
Denoting itself as one of the worlds most valuable and precious metals, gold sets itself apart from the rest of the precious metals. It is so malleable and soft that just one mere ounce of it will produce a wire that can stretch 5 miles in length. If you would prefer to pound it rather than stretch it, you could create a sheet that will cover 100 square feet. Because it cannot corrode or rust it will last almost indefinitely.
Gold is all around us. It can be found in our rivers and seas, in the earth’s crust beneath our feet and in our plants as well. It is very expensive and difficult to extract, and this is why it is so pricey. It takes about 2.5 to 3 tons of gold ore to produce a mere ounce of pure gold…what a percentage!
Here’s a trivia question for you. Do you happen to know what popular metal is most often found in today’s jewelry? Any guesses? You got it…first try…it is gold! It is used in our heart jewelry, fine jewelry, cool jewelry, you name it. Most of this gold goes into one type of jewelry though…the wedding band. Since it is so soft and malleable, it is often not found by itself, but in combination with other metals. It is this combination that makes it durable and strong and ensures that it will not be bent so easily. Do you happen to know what a combination of two or more metals is? It’s an alloy. Most of the gold that is used in our jewelry is an alloy.
What are these various types of jewelry you ask? How about:
(1) Gold jewelry,
(2) Wholesale gold jewelry,
(3) Jewelry White Gold
(4) Gold plated jewelry,
(5) Gold body jewelry,
(6) Gold charm jewelry,
(7) Rose gold jewelry,
(8) 24k gold jewelry,
(9) 14k gold jewelry,
(10) 22k gold jewelry,
(11) 18k gold jewelry,
(12) Indian gold jewelry,
(13) Gold horse jewelry,
(14) Plus other fabulous jewelry white gold items.
You have probably heard of the word carat before, but do you know what it means? The word itself is derived from the word for the fruit of the carob tree. For example, the Arabic word girat, the Italian word carato, and the Greek word keration. The seeds of the carob tree were used in the measurement of the size of precious gems in the ancient world. There was a pure gold Byzantine coin called the solidus. It weighed in at 24 karats, so the 24 karat mark (i.e.: 24K or 24KT) became the mark used to indicate that the item being looked at was make of pure gold.
Did you enjoy this little journey into the world of gold and jewelry white gold? We hope so. If you would like to learn more we would love to have you visit our blog. We will go into more details on this subject, heart jewelry, and just jewelry in general. Welcome…
Caring For Your White Gold Jewelry
Posted by: | CommentsWhite gold jewelry, as the name suggests, is jewelry made with white gold. However, white gold is not a natural substance. It is an alloy that is formed using a combination of metals where gold has the highest purity. Other metals used in creating the alloy may include silver, palladium and platinum. A substance known as rhodium may also be used as a plating to increase the ‘whiteness’ of the finished product. Rhodium will also act as a protective barrier since it doesn’t oxidize or tarnish in any way.
When it comes to caring for white gold jewelry, the obvious piece of advice is to avoid situations where this jewelry could be damaged. There are parts of our everyday life that can cause problems for our jewelry, particularly rings like wedding rings. We wear these 24/7 and they become a part of us to the point we almost forget they are there. This can cause a few problems. Consider some of these every day effects. problems:
Household Chemicals
Household chemicals hold hidden dangers for white gold jewelry. This list of chemicals can include items such as laundry detergents and bleaches, kitchen cleaning products, and personal care products such as soaps and cleaning agents. Yes, washing the dishes, having a shower or doing the laundry can effect your jewelry.
Outside the house, chemicals can include garden products such as fertilizers, bug sprays and weed killers. Swimming pool cleaners such as chlorine or salt can also damage your white gold jewelry.
Body Salt
Did you know you were very salty – and I mean that in the nicest possible way. Your jewelry doesn’t think its nice though. Our body sweat is very salty and whilst sea salt can cause problems, that salty sweat is a bigger danger. Rings can be particularly vulnerable as the sweat sits under the ring and slowly dissolving the metal. Remove your rings or jewelry before doing anything that is likely to increase your body persperation.
Humid Air
We all know that water leads to rust in metals. The same is true for white gold jewelry. Even high humidity levels in the air can lead to problems. Most metals oxidize to a certain extent – some just faster than others. Steal of course gets that rusty color whilst copper turns green. Even silver oxidizes noticeably turning a black color. Since white gold is made from an alloy, it is often the alloys that cause the oxidization process, not the gold itself.
Cleaning
If you become too fussy cleaning and polishing your white gold jewelry you run the risk of polishing off the protective rhodium plating. This leaves your jewelry piece susceptible to all the above problems. Gently cleaning is all that is required.
Looking after your white gold jewelry is not difficult. Avoid some of the above situations, keep the pieces clean using a soft cloth, and for more expensive pieces, take them to a jewelers for a professional clean.
Jewelry White Gold – The Platinum Alternative
Posted by: | CommentsPure gold is so soft that it is not practical for jewelry making so it needs to be mixed with other minerals. One of the most popular mixes around is the one that results in white gold.
When pure gold is combined with other metals the result is known as an alloy. Alloys are stronger and longer wearing so they can be worked into designs that will not easily lose their shape. To make an alloy, gold is mixed with one or more metals.
These metals include copper, nickel, silver, zinc, and palladium. The metals nickel, zinc or palladium are used to turn yellow gold into jewelry white gold. These metals bleach the gold to a whitish color. Palladium has the most effect, however it is more expensive than gold – it is also creates a much harder alloy – often too hard to easily work into fine jewelry.
By using different combination’s of those metals you can control the strength and whiteness of the finished product. Rings for example need to be strong and most people who prefer jewelry white gold like the platinum look. To achieve this palladium and silver are often used, sometimes with other metals.
This could be in the proportions of 75% gold, 4% silver, 4% copper and 17% palladium. This would create jewelry white gold that is 18 carat, hard wearing with a platinum style look
Jewelry white gold was created back in the 1920′s to satisfy a demand for platinum jewelry. Platinum is far more expensive than gold so it can be too expensive for most people. Jewelry white gold looks and feels like platinum yet it is far less expensive.
Cheaper versions of jewelry white gold are being produced these days and they range in color from dull grey through to a sickly yellow. To give life to this cheap white gold, the finished product is rhodium plated. This turns the sickly looking metal into a highly polished platinum looking product.
After a few years the rhodium plating wears off leaving the true color of the cheap alloy showing. What looked like a classy platinum piece of jewelry will look a tarnished piece of silver.
Jewelry white gold, like platinum, is actually grey when made. It is the rhodium that provides the white finish. Modern grades of white gold are better suited to jewelry making than platinum due to its easier workability. Platinum is a tough metal to shape in comparison to jewelry white gold.
It’s popular – it’s less expensive than platinum – yet it provides that distinguished professional look. Jewelry white gold is the choice of most modern on the rise professionals.