Gold as a material in the hands of a jeweler
Gold is a traditional material used by jewelers, as well as one of the few metals that is practically not susceptible to corrosion. And since the world’s gold reserves are inexorably exhausted, its value is constantly growing.
Pure gold nuggets are extremely rare, the largest was found in Australia in 1872, its weight was more than 200 kg, but usually the size of the nuggets does not exceed the size of the grain.
Gold consumption has more than doubled in the last 15 years, while jewelry production accounts for about 85% of the total precious metal sold.
Why precisely gold?
It would seem that for the manufacture of jewelry you can use more resistant to corrosion metals, but it is gold that possesses such valuable jewelers properties as softness and plasticity. These properties allow you to create real masterpieces of jewelry art, because gold can be forged sheets with a thickness of up to 0.1 microns.
It is more correct to call gold a chemical element, and the material that we used to see is not pure gold and usually contains various impurities. The purity of the material is determined by the amount of impurities, the purer the metal, the more expensive it is. In addition, other elements can be intentionally added to the alloy to give a future product a certain color and greater strength.
How I would like to have a ring, poured out of the purest gold, is not it? But jewelers offer us products from different samples from 375 to 958. This means that the alloy contains from 375 to 958 ppm of pure gold, all the rest are additives, the so-called ligature. However, without these additives, the very little ring would be too soft, easily scratched and deformed.
Types of gold in jewelry
Pure gold is used only in chemistry, various alloys are used in jewelry.
– Yellow gold is the most common, but not always this color indicates a high degree of purity. Usually silver and copper are added to it, which makes the color a little lighter. Such an alloy most often has 750 samples.
– Red gold is an alloy with the addition of more copper, which gives it a reddish tint. It is also called Russian gold, which does not mean its prevalence exclusively in Russia. Previously, this alloy was used for the manufacture of gold coins – gold coins, while its purity corresponded to the modern 900 sample. Today, it more often corresponds to the 585 test, but it may be cleaner.
– White gold is an alloy with the addition of 5% silver and 20% palladium. It is easily confused with platinum, but it is much cheaper. This alloy is a symbol of prestige, it is valued higher than yellow gold.
More often white gold is used in jewelery with diamonds, as it best emphasizes the color of the stone, while the yellow or red metal can give the diamond an undesirable shade.
However, the final choice of the color of gold in the jewelry is always yours and depends on several factors:
features of product design;
combinations of metal color with color of inlaid stones;
domination in your headset of a certain color;
personal preference.
In our online store you have the opportunity to choose gold of any color and sample, as well as get a visualization of your chosen product.