San Jose jewelers feature a lot of beautiful and interesting jewelry designs. But in this article, we are going to talk about white metals for fine jewelry. You probably know a little bit about these metals, but it’s time to learn more so that you can make an informed choice. Read further to find out important buying tips directly from San Jose jewelers.
San Jose Jewelers & White Gold
It’s no wonder that many women confuse white gold with platinum since, sometimes, jewelers use the metaphor “white gold” to describe platinum. In fact, these two metals are very different. We decided to start with white gold, and then we will move on to platinum and silver.
As the San Jose jewelers will tell you, white gold is an alloy that contains gold, silver, palladium, nickel, and rhodium. These are all white metals that will change the natural yellow color of gold when used in a gold alloy. The result will be a white gold jewelry piece. Many times, this piece also contains a rhodium plating to protect it and give it its luminescent color.
Furthermore, as you will find out from San Jose jewelers, white gold uses the same karat system as yellow or rose gold. This means that you can get different types of white gold jewelry, from 10k to 22k. There are 4 karat types (10k, 14k, 18k, and 22k) and they refer to different percentages of gold in the alloy. As you can guess, the higher the karat, the higher the price of the jewelry piece.
Generally, as San Jose jewelers will tell you, white gold jewelry is malleable and quite easy to resize or melt and change it into something else. This is great to know if you plan on buying white gold jewelry for somebody else or if you own a couple of pieces that you don’t like anymore.
San Jose Jewelers & Platinum
As opposed to white gold, which is an alloy, platinum is a natural metal with its own chemical symbol. It is a very interesting precious metal, not only due to its highly luminescent color but also to its properties. Because of its amazing properties, only 30% of the platinum supply goes into jewelry. The rest is used in the medical, automotive and agricultural industries.
As opposed to white gold, that can lose its color in time and to silver that can tarnish, platinum will always have a lustrous white color. There is no karat system for platinum as any platinum jewelry piece contains at least 95% pure platinum. Another thing you should also know about platinum is that it is a very rare metal, rarer than gold.
San Jose jewelers recommend you to buy platinum jewelry only if you are sure of the ring size or that you will always love the style. As opposed to any other jewelry metal, platinum doesn’t melt. This means that a platinum ring is next to impossible to resize and you will never be able to transform a platinum bracelet into a pair of earrings, for example.
When it comes to its price, San Jose jewelers have several explanations for why platinum is more expensive than gold. Besides the fact that it is rarer, platinum is also harder to work with. Only experienced San Jose jewelers can work with this metal, so the labor cost goes up.
San Jose Jewelers & Silver
Silver is another precious metal with a white color. Just like gold, silver is too soft to create pure silver jewelry. There are several silver alloys, but the most popular one is sterling silver.
As San Jose jewelers will tell you, a sterling silver jewelry piece contains 92.5% pure silver. The rest of the alloy is composed of other metals. Pure silver doesn’t tarnish but sterling silver does. The tarnish is just a chemical reaction in relation to the oxygen and other elements in the air.
The good news is that, even though a sterling silver jewelry piece can tarnish, you can restore it. All you have to do is use a tarnish polishing cloth and your jewelry piece will look as new. However, if the tarnish layer is too thick, then you need to take it to the jewelry shop. Any of the San Jose jewelers will be able to professionally remove the tarnish layer.
San Jose Jewelers & White Metal Choices
Now that you know more about white metals, which ones should you get? For engagement rings, San Jose jewelers recommend getting a white gold ring with a platinum setting. This way, the stone will be better protected and the band is less prone to scratches.
Other than that, for jewelry pieces you want to wear often, choose silver. The more you wear a sterling silver piece, the least it will be prone to tarnish. For statement earrings or other pieces, you should get platinum as it has the most luminescent color. And last, but not least, buy white gold for essential pieces like simple hoops or studs.
If you enjoyed reading this article, continue on our blog. We publish daily articles with interesting jewelry information such as buying guides, styling tips and more. If you want a unique NYC jewelry piece, visit Ana Luisa online jewelry shop. We feature limited-edition designer pieces in our collections and we are sure that you will fall in love with some of our designs.
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