| About 160 years ago, one simple word sent over a | | | | best-known; it's any 925 fine alloy (92.5 percent silver |
| quarter-million people on a 2,000-mile trek over dirt | | | | 7.5 percent base metal) |
| roads with no bridges, no hotels, not even a single fast | | | | - Alpaca Mexico is generally around 900 fine |
| food restaurant! The word? | | | | - Jewelry silver is a specific 800 fine alloy--800 silver |
| "GOLD!" | | | | 200 copper |
| Since man first discovered shiny rocks, precious | | | | Silver's one drawback is tarnish, but a new alloy, |
| metals have captured the imagination of almost every | | | | Platifina (Spanish for "fine silver") is 925 silver 10 |
| human being and jewelry has been a popular way to | | | | platinum 65 [oh, sorry, trade secret!]; it both durable and |
| win a spouse, reward a friend or just show off your | | | | tarnish resistant. Platifina jewelry is available exclusively |
| wealth and good taste. Very few of us will own more | | | | through |
| than a coin or two, but most of us will, at some point, | | | | A warning--some silver isn't silver at all. "Nickel silver" |
| buy or receive jewelry in precious metals. | | | | (also "German silver" or "alpaca silver") is an alloy of |
| To prevent misrepresentation or fraud, the US jewelry | | | | copper-nickel-zinc alloy (sometimes mixed with other, |
| industry is carefully regulated. Precious metals actually | | | | toxic, metals so its use is now restricted). It has the |
| has a legal definition: Precious metals are gold, silver | | | | look of silver and was a low-priced substitute used |
| and platinum (or other "platinum group metals"--iridium, | | | | mostly as base for silver-plating. These days, most |
| palladium, ruthenium, rhodium and osmium--but don't | | | | nickel silver is used in nickels (5-cent coins are 750 |
| expect to see them at the wedding ring counter). All | | | | copper 250 nickel). |
| others are commonly known as base metals or | | | | Platinum |
| industrial metals. | | | | Platinum is another white metal. Brought to Europe by |
| Precious refers only to their use in jewelry; many base | | | | the Spanish Conquistadors, platinum jewelry was rare |
| metals are extremely valuable--copper has been used | | | | until the 19th Century and platinum only gained |
| in coins for millennia and rhenium costs nearly ten times | | | | recognition as a monetary metal in the 1980s, but has |
| as much as gold. Likewise, precious metals have | | | | become as popular among collectors and investors as |
| industrial applications. Only two-thirds of gold and less | | | | it is among prospective grooms. Its composition is |
| that forty percent of silver become jewelry or coins. | | | | highly restricted: |
| The rest goes to electronics, photography, medicine or | | | | - Platinum at least 950 fine (sometimes abbreviated |
| elsewhere. | | | | 950Pt) may be sold as platinum |
| The other main point of US regulations is | | | | - Any alloy from 850 fine (850Pt) to 949 fine must be |
| purity--always an important question when buying | | | | marked and sold as platinum alloy |
| precious metal. In jewelry terms, purity is generally | | | | - Below 850 fine, the alloy cannot legally be sold in the |
| described in fineness or parts per thousand. The | | | | US as platinum |
| standard is 999 fine, meaning 99.9-percent pure. Alloys | | | | Platinum jewelry costs more than gold because, |
| are sometimes abbreviated by parts: "900 gold 50 | | | | compared to 22k, 18k or 14k gold, buyers get more |
| copper 50 nickel" or something similar. | | | | precious metal with platinum jewelry. It could also be |
| Part of the precious metal mystique is tradition--silver | | | | called a "new and improved white gold"--it is naturally |
| and gold have been valued since ancient times. They | | | | white and stays that way (white gold does not). It is |
| are rare, but common enough to form a worldwide | | | | denser, more durable, holds gemstones more securely |
| standard. They are workable, rust-free and they are | | | | and is hypoallergenic. More rare than gold, few people |
| one of the blings in bling-bling (the other being gems). | | | | will own anything other than a wedding set. Perhaps |
| The platinum group is a recent addition. Likewise, some | | | | most important, platinum will not wear away; the ring, |
| industrial metals have now found their way into | | | | bracelet or necklace you buy today will be the same |
| bracelets, earrings, necklaces and rings because they | | | | on your golden jubilee. (Perhaps we should change that |
| have advantages over precious metals. | | | | to the platinum anniversary!) |
| Types of precious metals | | | | Industrial metals |
| Gold | | | | Certain base metals are becoming more popular in |
| Gold has a magic all its own and rare is the person | | | | jewelry as their durability is recognized as a symbol of |
| who does not react when hearing that word. Since | | | | strength and permanence: |
| man's earliest records, gold coins and gold jewelry | | | | - Titanium is widely used in--and is actually |
| have been the ultimate mark of wealth. Gold's purity is | | | | indispensable to--the aerospace industry; about a |
| formally measured in fineness, but jewelers still use the | | | | dozen alloys are in common use today |
| traditional karat (abbreviated k or kt): | | | | - Tungsten-carbide--a compound of tungsten and |
| - 24k gold is pure gold (1000 fine)--too soft for jewelry | | | | carbon--forms super-dense alloys in products ranging |
| but excellent for bribery, smuggling and similar | | | | from golf clubs to weapons |
| enterprises | | | | - Stainless steel is an iron-carbon alloy known for |
| - 22k gold (916 fine) is the purest alloy commonly sold | | | | centuries; modern steels number in the hundreds |
| - 18k gold (750 fine) has a deep, rich color | | | | Neither titanium rings nor tungsten-carbide rings will |
| - 14k gold (585 fine) is stronger than 18k and makes | | | | tarnish. Titanium is a little darker than silver, tungsten |
| more durable jewelry | | | | darker than titanium. They are particularly suited to |
| - 10k gold (416 fine) is the legal minimum; lesser alloys | | | | active individuals. [If an activity might damage the |
| may be marketed as gold tone but not as gold | | | | jewelry, you don't want to find out what it could do to |
| Gold is naturally yellow, its shade varying with impurities | | | | your hand!] For those with metal allergies, titanium is |
| or alloys. White gold is alloyed with nickel, platinum, | | | | excellent; so good, it's used in artificial hips. Stainless |
| iridium, palladium or plated with rhodium. Other alloys | | | | steel jewelry's great advantage is as a low-cost |
| produce a variety of colors. | | | | alternative. It will not bend or break under normal usage, |
| Gold filled is not what it sounds like; it isn't something | | | | it doesn't tarnish and is hypoallergenic. |
| filled with gold, it's gold filled with something, usually | | | | Regardless of when or why you choose precious |
| brass or silver. Thicker than gold-plated, it must be at | | | | metal jewelry, get what suits you best for by knowing |
| least 5 percent gold by weight. | | | | what to look for. |
| Silver | | | | For more information: |
| Silver is the most plentiful and the most widely used | | | | All jewelry sold in the US must be clearly described |
| precious metal. Until the 19th Century, it was the money | | | | according to regulations set by the Federal Trade |
| standard in most countries and almost every 21st | | | | Commission ( |
| Century home has silver jewelry, plated candlesticks, | | | | The Jewelry Information Center ( strives to be the |
| photographic film, coins, etc. Like gold, silver must be | | | | source for consumer information on fine jewelry and |
| alloyed for hardness: | | | | watches. |
| - Sterling silver (often just called sterling) is the | | | | (C)2007 Overstock.com--All Rights Reserved. |