A bunch of things have come up and I have not been able to
get around to posting as much. I am sorry! I hope you all found my last post
about pearls and how to buy them helpful! Working in the jewelry business, I get
a lot of people that do not know exactly they are looking for when it comes to
pearls or what they should look for. Today I will be talking about gold and
what those stamps on the inside of your jewelry mean. I hope you find it
informative and helpful!
When people think of jewelry the first thing that usually
pops into one’s head is gold and diamonds and that it is really expensive to
get those. This is not necessarily true. When it comes to gold jewelry there
are some things to know.
First is that gold jewelry is not made of 24 karat gold. 24
karat is too soft and will fall apart. If a jeweler tells you that it is you
are probably getting 24 karat gold plating over a base metal or silver. While
it looks pretty, it isn’t very practical for everyday wear as it will wear off.
The highest karat of gold most jewelers will carry is 18 karat gold. 18 karat
is usually found in countries like India and China. In terms of karat gold the
lowest that a jeweler will usually have is 10 karat. 10 karat isn’t horribly
expensive, but it is brittle. Getting it in contact with chorine from swimming
pools or bleach can destroy it. Sometimes you will find 12 karat gold. However,
the only place I have seen that is in Turkish jewelry. The most desirable of
karat gold for jewelry is 14 karat. It is not brittle like 10 karat and it is
not too soft like 18 karat.
Another thing to take into consideration is the colour of
the gold. The most common colours are yellow, white, and rose. Gold comes out
of the ground as yellow and as such is the most common of the colours. White
gold is often mistaken as silver for someone who does not know much about
precious metals. White gold is gold alloyed with one of two white metals such
as nickel or platinum. If you are allergic to nickel sometimes it is best to
stay away from white gold. Thankfully, if you want the white metal look most
jewelers are able to accommodate you with a variety of other white jewelry
metals. Rose gold is also called pink gold, Russian gold, and red gold. It is
made by mixing copper with the gold to turn it into a red to pink and sometimes
orange colour. Other colours of gold include green, grey, black, purple, and
blue. Green golds are made with silver mixed in. These golds will have variety
of different shades and often one cannot tell if it is green or yellow gold
until the two are placed side by side. Grey gold is different from white gold
in that it is darker. Grey gold usually contains silver, manganese, and copper.
Black gold is made in several different ways, but usually will contain cobalt
and chromium. However, one can just as easily get the same effect by using a
black rhodium plating (I will explain what rhodium is in a later post). Purple
gold is made with high gold-aluminum intermetallic aluminum. This metal is more
precious as it is a minimum of 18 karat gold a good majority of the time. Blue
gold contains indium as its alloy. However, it may be pretty, blue and purple
gold contain non-noble metals and can discolour when exposed to sweat.
So, what do those symbols on the inside of your ring and on
the closures of your necklaces mean? When it comes to karat gold it will be
marked 10kt, 12kt, 14kt, or 18kt. If it is marked anything other than that it
is probably not gold. However, some countries will stamp the piece differently.
For example, my favorite piece of jewelry that I own is a rose gold Jerusalem
cross that is marked Au750. That means that it is 18 karat gold. If in doubt go
to your local jeweler! Chances are that they will not charge you to check. Platinum
is usually marked with the word or Plat. and is pretty easy to identify. If a piece
is stamped .925, 925/100, or STERLING then it is sterling silver. Identifying
silver from countries other than the United States can be tricky. When it comes
to silver mad in the United Kingdom and Ireland you have other marks to
identify. Again, your local jeweler should be able to identify whether or not
your piece is silver or not. However, here is what to look for when looking at
UK or Irish silver. Because the British still use the silver standard for their
currency you must look at a series of stamps when trying to figure out what it
is. On the plus side, if your product is faulty you can trace it back directly
to the person that made it most of the time. The first mark to look for is the
assayer’s mark which will tell you the purity of the silver. This is shown by a
lion passant or, in the case of an Irish made piece it will be a harped
crowned. Next to look for is the date mark which will tell you what year the
piece was made. The city mark will vary to show you which city it was made in.
The final mark on a British piece to look for is the maker’s mark which is the
hallmark used to show who made the piece. Irish made products will also have
Hibernia stamped on it. Older marks not used today are the duty mark that
showed how much tax was to be collected on the piece, in use from late 1784 to
1890, and the tally mark which was used by a journeyman apprentice so that they
could be paid correctly. The French also use various silver marks that have the
head of Minerva and will be 95% silver or higher unless a 2 is stamped next to
Minerva’s head. If the French piece was made for export it will have the head
of Mercury and a stamp to show the purity of the silver between 1 and 3, 1
having the highest and 3 having the lowest silver content. As with the British
hallmarks, French hallmarks also have a maker stamp.
Something to keep in mind is that just because it is gold and
has a clear stone in it does not mean that it has a diamond in it! Sometimes it
is a semi mount that has a cubic zirconia placed there for show. It could also
be white topaz, white sapphire, or any other white gemstones. Also, just
because it is silver does not mean that those white stones are not diamonds.
They very well may be diamonds. Just ask the jeweler at the store and they will
be able to tell you.
Hope this helps you! I will be trying to keep this more up
to date as best as my time allows.
Until next time!
