At the risk of exposing what I do, I have decided to do this community (albeit a small one) a service by helping them appreciate and understand the world of Jewelry.
The history of jewelry is as old as human kind itself; it is seen as objects of adornment, and in its earliest days, jewelry is made up of objects of everyday life like shells, pebbles, even leaves. Passed through generations, these simple adornments became important; valuable, a part of our heritage.
I can write further and bore you to tears on this; but simply put; jewelry evokes our emotions; be it love, pride or obsession. In my humble opinion, in its truest essence, jewelry is a form of art that can be worn, and “art” is perceived differently from one person to another.
Just like art, we have different school of thoughts and come in various forms. So, boys and girls… Are we ready for our lesson of Gold?
Gold is the most sought after material in jewelry making, so it is apt that we all start off by getting to know our yellow friend. And since I’m doing this for free, (loving’ it though…) I’ll cut straight to explaining the most confusing terminology used in the gold industry.
K = stands for Karat (not to be confused with carat, a measurement of weight for diamonds), and has nothing to do with the orange vegetable, carrot. It is a measurement of gold purity.
24K is pure gold. In its truest form, it is soft, easily pliable. Suitable for carving designs, but not to be mounted with any gems, as it is not strong enough to hold it in place.
18K, is made up of 75% gold and 15% other metal alloys, allowing it to be stronger. Most popular among craftsmen as they can work in designs AND mount gemstones. Laymen term for 18K is “white gold”. The thing is, it’s not really white, 18K gold is still yellow, just not as bright as pure gold. Imagine yellow mixed with a little bit of white.
The white finish that you see in “white gold” is actually rhodium plating, the same plating for silver and platinum! So, seriously, a white gold ring, a platinum ring or a silver ring which are fresh out from the oven after the plating.. all looks the same! But if you think you can get away with saying that its platinum when its only white gold … you CAN’T, the plating wears off you know..
And since I can sense that you’re mind is already wandering off, let me just wrap this up.
Pure doesn’t necessarily represent the best. Throw in some other element, it binds the original foundation and becomes stronger. It may not be as shiny, but give it a nice layer of coat, a little loving; it will embody your emotion. Just like in 18K gold, the additional component adds on to our lives, making us stronger and able to take on the jewel that we call life! Get it?
-strong-yet-soft-L
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