Posts from ‘March, 2009’

Precious metals are ideal for creating beautiful jewelry due in part to their resistance to corrosion. Such precious metals with which you may be familiar include gold, silver, and platinum, but palladium, rhodium, iridium, osmium and ruthenium are other precious metals commonly incorporated into jewelry such as diamond rings, eternity rings, promise rings and right hand rings. Precious metals can be combined to form what are known as alloys, often for the purpose of reducing cost or producing a metal sturdier than any one element alone. There are several types of the major precious metals used in the crafting of fine jewelry:

Gold: The most malleable and ductile of the precious metals, gold can be readily flattened into thin sheets and stretched into thin wire, which makes it a versatile and popular choice for jewelry creation. Gold is often alloyed with other metals for cost reduction and to increase the strength of the final product. In pure form, gold is measured in troy weight, but as an alloy with other metals its weight is measured in karats. For gold, the karat weight specifies the amount of pure gold present, with 24 karat being pure gold and smaller karat weights designating lower percentages of gold and higher proportions of other metals.

Silver: Second to gold in malleability and ductility, silver is anther precious metal popular for use in jewelry. Silver is also commonly alloyed with other metals to create jewelry, with the popular sterling silver consisting of a combination of 92.5 percent silver with a relatively small 7.5 percent of another metal, typically copper. Being a superior conductor of heat and electricity, silver has numerous applications beyond jewelry making, such as coins, dentistry tools, silverware, film and electronics.

Platinum: Rarer than silver and gold, platinum is a durable precious metal common for eternity rings, engagement rings and wedding bands due to its resilience even with constant use. Iridium, palladium, ruthenium, rhodium and osmium are other precious metals in the Platinum Group of Metals, which occur together naturally. Palladium is the metal often mixed with yellow gold to make white gold, and rodium is used extensively to plate white gold to give it that extra white brightness. The metals in the Platinum Group of Metals are resilient, tarnish resistant and stable, making them popular for use not only in jewelry but also in numerous industrial processes such as crude oil refining and automobile manufacturing.

If you’ve chosen to wear pearls for your wedding jewelry, shopping for them now becomes a task. There are five important factors to consider when shopping for pearls as your wedding jewelry.

Color

These six factors largely contribute to the value of your jewelry. The color of your pearl can be white, pink, cream, or golden. The most expensive pearls of the highest quality tend to be softer in hue and more radiant. One of the highest quality pearls are the Akoya Saltwater pearls.

Size

When we refer to the size of your pearl , we’re generally referring to the size of the jewelry. If for instance, you chose a pearl necklace as your wedding jewelry, the largest pearl usually hangs at the center of your neck. The pearls then become gradually smaller as they approach the clasp of your necklace. Nevertheless, there are different sizes of pearls themselves. Larger pearls make a very dramatic impression on bides, and they’re generally more costly.

Luster

A pearl’s luster can reflect a radiant shine and display a deeper reflected light from the inner pear. This outward display of light is referred to as the overtone. Although a lower quality pearl will have a duller sheen, this type of pearl might be perfect if you only intend to wear it once in your life.

Shape

Peals of the highest quality are always perfectly round and rarely have any surface imperfections. Lower quality pearls are rarely ever perfectly round, and often show some surface imperfections, including pitting.

Surface Texture

Which brings us to the surface texture of a pearl. The quality of your pearl will be easy to identify by the surface texture. Feel the pearl itself. If it’s smooth without surface abrasions, than it’s most likely of the highest quality. Unfortunately, not everyone can afford high quality pearls-which leaves a skimpy selection. Lower quality pearls tend to appear low-quality, especially if they have flaws to their surface.

Here are several different types of pearls to examine. The four popular types of pearls are as follows:

* Classic Akoya Pearls
* Large Exotic Black Tahitian Pearls
* Large Golden or White South Sea Pearls
* Decorative Freshwater Pearls

If you’re on budget, but you’re dying to have pearls draped around your neck for the special day-select decorative freshwater pearls. They’re very inexpensive and they will make a gorgeous accessory to your wedding gown. As long as someone in your family isn’t a jeweler, nobody will know they’re not high-quality pearls.

On the other hand, if you have you heart set on high quality blemish-free pearls, than shop around! Don’t commit to one person before you explore your options. Choosing a store that offers a certificate with your pearls, and if possible-a warranty.