Since humans first discovered shiny metal and sparkling stones, jewelry has been a popular way to win a spouse, reward a friend or just show off your wealth and good taste. Though none of us will likely see a treasure chest full of gold or silver coins outside of a pirate movie, most of us will, at some point, buy or receive jewelry in precious metals.
This precious metal jewelry buying guide presents some basic information to help you recognize and select quality jewelry that could become treasured family heirlooms: Children's jewelry, women's jewelry and men's jewelry--even designer jewelry and some one of a kind jewelry pieces--all can be had at affordable prices at Overstock.com.
"Precious" metals are gold, silver or any of what are now called the PGM or "platinum group metals" (platinum, iridium, palladium, ruthenium, rhodium and osmium); all others are "base" or ''industrial'' metals. "Precious" refers only to their use in jewelry; many "base" metals are extremely valuable to industry. For example, copper is a monetary metal, used in coins for millennia, and rhenium's value is nearly ten times that of gold, but it's so rare the entire output is committed to industrial use. Likewise, precious metals have industrial applications. Only two-thirds of gold mined and less that forty percent of silver becomes jewelry or coins. The rest goes to electronics, photography, medicine or elsewhere.
Purity is always an important question when buying precious metal. Purity is generally described in "fineness" or parts per thousand. The standard is 999 fine or 99.9 percent pure.
Part of the precious metal mystique is tradition--silver and gold have been valued since ancient times. They are rare, but common enough to form a worldwide standard. They are easy to work, they don't rust, and they are one of the blings in bling-bling (the other being gems). The platinum group joined the precious category because their properties are similar to gold and silver, and they are also very pretty to look upon. Recently, some industrial metals have found their way into bracelets, earrings, necklaces and rings because they have advantages over precious metals. Today's most common jewelry metals are:
Gold has a magic all its own; rare is the person who does not react when hearing that word. Since man's earliest records, gold has been the ultimate mark of wealth and remains the hallmark jewelry metal.
The purity of gold is most often measured in fineness, but Americans still use the karat (abbreviated "k'" or "kt") in jewelry: 24k gold is pure gold (1000 fine); it is too soft to use as jewelry [but excellent for bribery, smuggling and similar enterprises]. 18k gold (750 fine or 75 percent pure) is softer than 14k gold (585 fine, 58.3 percent pure), but has a deeper color. 10k gold (416 fine or just under 42 percent) is the legal minimum; lesser alloys may be marketed as gold tone but not as gold. Gold jewelry imported from outside the USA may use fineness instead of karats to describe its purity.
Yellow gold is gold in its natural state, its shades varying with impurities or when alloyed (mixed with other metals), but even white gold is yellow-tinged. White gold can be of several alloys: Nickel is the least expensive, but some people are allergic to nickel. Platinum, iridium and palladium make more expensive, hypo-allergenic alloys. The whitest gold is actually rhodium-plated gold; this plating won't chip, but does wear off and must be renewed periodically to maintain its best appearance. Other alloys include copper, which makes rose gold and pink gold; silver, which makes green gold; and iron, which makes blue gold.
Gold filled is not what it sounds like. It isn't something filled with gold, it is gold filled with something. Most common is a thin gold sheet heat-bonded to brass; second is gold bonded to silver (this is called vermeil). The gold surface is far thicker than "gold plated"; to be sold as gold filled, gold must be 5 percent or more of the total metal weight. In plating the gold layer is electrostaticly deposited on the base metal and may be just a few microns thin. It can chip and will wear off eventually, but the purchase cost is substantially lower, and replating is more economical than buying new jewelry (although, if you insist, Overstock.com will sell you some of that instead).
By the way, iron pyrite is a yellowish mineral sometimes mounted as a gemstone called "marcasite." Iron pyrite is most commonly known as "fool's gold."
The most plentiful of precious metals, silver, is also the most widely used. It was the money standard until the 19th Century in most countries, and almost every 21st Century home has some silver jewelry, silver-plated candlesticks, photographic film, silver coins, etc. Silver must be alloyed for hardness; the best-known alloy is sterling silver, that's any alloy 925 fine or 92.5 percent silver (plus 7.5 percent base metal). Though used most in money or castings, sterling silver jewelry is a growing fashion trend. Jewelry marked "Alpaca Mexico" is generally less pure than sterling--most often around 900 fine. "Jewelry silver" is a specific alloy, 80 percent silver 20 percent copper.
Silver's one drawback is tarnish, but a new alloy, Platifina (from the Spanish for "fine silver") is 925 silver 10 platinum 65 [oh, sorry, trade secret!]; it is extremely tarnish resistant. Platifina jewelry is available exclusively at Overstock.com.
"Silver-plated" indicates a very thin layer of silver over base metal. Like gold-plate, the silver can be just a few microns thick, meaning it can chip and will wear off eventually, but, again, replating is less expensive than buying new jewelry (and, again, if you insist, Overstock.com will sell you some of that instead).
A warning--some silver isn't silver at all. "Nickel silver" (also known as German silver or alpaca silver, along with a few other trade names) is any alloy of copper with nickel or zinc, and sometimes antimony, tin, lead or cadmium. It is silver tone, not silver alloy, and was a low-priced silver substitute in the 19th Century, mostly as a base layer for silver-plating. Because some of these metals are toxic, its use is now heavily restricted. In the US, the principal use of nickel silver is the nickel (5-cent coins are 750/250 copper/nickel). By law, these alloys cannot be marketed in the US as silver.
Another white metal, platinum, has a short history in jewelry. Brought to Europe by the Spanish Conquistadors, its chemical properties made it difficult to work until the 19th Century, when it began to be used in jewelry. Platinum only gained recognition as a monetary metal in the 1980s, but has become as popular among collectors and investors as it is among prospective grooms.
Platinum that is at least 950 fine or 950Pt (95 percent) is considered pure and may be sold as platinum. Anything lower must be marked and described as platinum alloy; anything less than 850Pt cannot be sold legally in the US as platinum.
Platinum jewelry costs more than gold jewelry for good reasons: Compared to the common gold alloys, 22k gold or 18k gold, buyers get more precious metal with platinum jewelry. It could also be called "the new and improved white gold"--it is naturally white and stays that way (gold does not). Platinum jewelry does develop a patina that many think gives it a vintage jewelry feel and makes a great background for diamonds or other gems. Denser than gold, platinum is heavier and more durable; it holds gemstones more securely and is hypoallergenic. More rare than gold, it is something few people will ever own. Perhaps most important, platinum will not wear away; the bracelet, earrings, necklace or ring you buy today will be the same on your golden jubilee. (Perhaps we should change that to the platinum anniversary!)
These industrial metals are recent additions to the jewelry market. Their popularity continues to grow, as their durability becomes a recognized symbol of strength and permanence.
A very common element, titanium remained unknown until the late 19th century and had no industrial value until the mid-20th, when economical processing methods were developed (a happy coincidence, as the then-expanding aerospace industry found titanium indispensable). Discovered in the late 18th Century, tungsten or wolfram, was first distilled from the mineral wolframite. Its high melting point is prized for things like light bulb filaments; added to other metals, it forms super dense alloys used in products ranging from golf club heads to weapons. Both are strong as steel--titanium at about half the weight, tungsten at about twice the weight--and able to alloy with numerous other metals, making them indispensable to modern industry.
Titanium rings or tungsten wedding bands won't tarnish. Tungsten jewelry is a darker gray than titanium jewelry, but, again, the shade you buy is the shade you'll see forever. They are particularly suited to active individuals; in fact, you probably don't want to engage in an activity that might damage titanium bands or tungsten carbide rings--imagine what it could do to your hand!
For those with metal allergies, titanium is an exceptional choice--good enough for artificial hips means good enough for body jewelry. Tungsten is also hypo-allergenic unless processed using cobalt or nickel, to which some people are allergic.
Unlike precious metals, titanium uses a complex industrial grading system; three of these grades are used in jewelry: "Commercially pure" titanium, called CP or ASTM Grade 2 (in jewelry terms, 990 fine) is the most hypo-allergenic and could be called medical grade. Ti-6/4, also called ASTM Grade 5 or aircraft grade (900 titanium 60 aluminum 40 vanadium), and Ti-6/6/2 (860 titanium 60 aluminum 60 vanadium 20 tin) are the extremely hard alloys. These designations are not always included in descriptions.
Not an alloy, tungsten carbides are compounds of tungsten and carbon--monotungsten carbide (WC) or ditungsten-carbide (W2C), for the few who care--pure tungsten jewelry is available, but pure tungsten isn't as hard as the carbides.
Titanium and tungsten carbide are not simple to process. They require additional work and cause more wear on tools, making them comparable to precious metals in price. But you really get what you pay for--the finished products will last forever.
Titanium jewelry can be brushed or polished to a high luster; it can be anodized to create rainbow-like patterns of light or colored accents. Titanium is also the only jewelry item that can be the setting as well as being in the setting--titanium oxide is used to create titania, an artificial gemstone.
Perhaps the ultimate in durable jewelry, tungsten carbide is denser than silver, titanium or steel, harder even than titanium. Tungsten carbide jewelry is also effectively wear proof. Like sapphires or rubies, it is likely only diamonds can scratch them, so a tungsten carbide ring will never lose its polish.
In spite of their strength, fine jewelry fashion and style are still options; tungsten and titanium jewelry can be crafted into almost any design, just like precious metals, from simple bands to complex settings with diamonds, rubies, emeralds, sapphires, topaz or other gemstones. They can be surfaced with a brushed or matte finish. Their durability does present one drawback, however. This jewelry cannot be resized. On the bright side, nothing any ordinary person will ever do can damage them.
Steel, an iron-carbon alloy, has been known and used for millennia, but it has always had one major drawback--rust. During the 19th Century, several alloys were developed that resisted corrosion, until the near perfect mix (10-percent chromium and 0.15-percent carbon added to approximately 89.85-percent iron) was found. (The approximate iron content is because other elements can be added to increase flexibility, hardness or other characteristics.) Stainless steel does actually rust, but the rust (or oxide) is a thin layer that actually protects the metal from reacting with air or water.
Stainless steel has a light gray tone, close to silver or white gold. With the introduction of pricey industrial metals to the jewelry industry, stainless steel as a low-cost alternative was probably inevitable. It will not bend or break under normal usage; it doesn't tarnish and is hypoallergenic.
The jewelry industry is carefully regulated to prevent misrepresentation or fraud. By law, all objects containing precious metals must be clearly and obviously described as to metal type, purity and manufacture, following regulations set down by the US Federal Trade Commission. All jewelry sold at Overstock.com conforms to these regulations.
Store jewelry in individual pouches or in separate compartments in the jewelry boxes, when possible, to prevent scratches or environmental damage. Keep away from harsh chemicals or activities that could dent or scratch it.
Frequent wearing of silver jewelry does prevent a lot of tarnish, but not all; silver must be cleaned occasionally. Many commercial polishes or polishing cloths are excellent; they work best when tarnish first appears and the tarnish layer is thinnest. Silver is considered the most reflective of precious metals, so keeping silver jewelry bright will allow you to show it off at its fullest beauty. Gold and platinum require less, but the occasional thorough cleaning is also a good idea.
Gold-plated or silver-plated jewelry can chip and does wear, so have it replated every few years to keep it looking its best. These soft metals do wear down and there's nothing that can prevent it. Even deep engraving or castings will look a bit weathered after a few decades.
Titanium, tungsten or stainless steel jewelry is best cleaned with a simple soak in warm, soapy water or detergent and wipe down with a soft cloth. Do not use any harsh abrasives on stainless; they can damage its natural protective oxide coat.
If the pieces are set with a gemstone or other adornments, always keep their needs and fragilities in mind when cleaning the setting.
Gold, silver, platinum and steel jewelry can be engraved by equipment that every good jeweler has on hand. Platinum is easier actually to scratch than gold, which makes it excellent for engraved jewelry. Titanium and tungsten can also be engraved, but this requires diamond-tipped engraving tools or a laser engraver.
Precious metals are all about the setting. What about the gem? Overstock.com has a variety of loose diamonds available at very reasonable prices. These stones can be set in any jewelry you already own.
For those on a very strict budget, or if you want some bling you can wear at your most rough and tumble activities, consider cubic zirconia. These man-made gem substitutes, plus man-made rubies, emeralds and sapphires, are very low-priced, look good, last long and (except under close scrutiny) are indistinguishable from the real thing.
As you consider jewelry, consider jewelry from our Worldstock partnership. Handmade jewelry has been brought together from skilled local artists all over the world, many of whom are also small business owners. Gems are collected and handcrafted into fine jewelry by talented artists, and each fashion jewelry piece varies slightly, meaning your world jewelry is custom jewelry, a piece of unique jewelry art that your family will treasure for generations. Worldstock prices this handcrafted jewelry as inexpensively as possible in order to drive up volume and create as many employment opportunities for these talented men and women as we can.