STERLING SILVER

Since ancient times, its lustrous brilliance has been coveted. Not only is silver as precious as gold, but there is evidence that humans first mined silver from naturally occurring silver sulfide deposits in rocks circa 3000 BC in order to manufacture coins and jewelry. Silver forms in star explosions called supernovae, as does gold. Studies have found that smaller stars that explode produce silver, while larger stars produce gold. Because it is a soft, malleable metal with a low melting point, it can be hammered and formed into various shapes. Sterling silver is the most famous silver alloy and has been used for centuries. Being the standard silver alloy in most parts of the world, it is made of 92.5% pure silver combined with 7.5% copper to create a durable, more wearable metal. Sterling silver is lustrous , reflective and generally easy to clean. 925 is the most frequent mark for Sterling silver.

RHODIUM PLATING

Rhodium is a corrosion-resistant and chemically stable at high temperatures rare platinum group metal (PGM). Like gold, silver, or platinum, rhodium is a valuable metal. It is actually the most expensive precious metal. Why is that so? Because it is so uncommon in nature, it is rarely unearthed through the process of mining for other metals like platinum. As a result, it is widely used as a plating or covering for jewelry. Because it is stronger than both silver and gold, it also produces an excellent protective covering that protects jewelry from scratches. One of its most significant advantages is that it does not tarnish and does not require any special cleaning processes. Rhodium plating is also recommended for consumers who are allergic to silver since it protects them from direct contact.

GOLD VERMEIL PLATING

Gold vermeil’s meaning is very specific with a legal definition.
It is any piece of jewelry that consists of a Sterling Silver base layer with solid gold electroplated on top. Any piece of jewelry marked
as gold vermeil must meet these requirements below:

Sterling silver must be the base material. Sterling silver is a metal alloy made of 92.5% pure silver and 7.5% other metals.

The gold plated layer must be at least 10k gold but can be anything from 14k to 24k gold. Something. uses 18k gold vermeil plaiting.

Products must be plated at least 2.5 microns thick (micron = 1/1000th of a millimeter) in gold.

GOLD VERMEIL PLATING VS. GOLD PLATED

While gold plating can be done on any metal, from copper to brass, gold vermeil must be done on sterling silver.

The thickness of the metal layer; although gold plating has a minimum thickness of 0.5 microns, gold vermeil must have a minimum
thickness of 2.5 microns. When comparing gold vermeil to gold plating, gold vermeil is at least 5 times thicker than gold plating.

Gold vermeil is significantly more durable than gold plating due to its increased thickness. Affordability and quality are combined.

GOLD

Gold is the most popular setting for most jewelry because of its beauty and adaptability. The purest gold is 24 karats. 1 karat equals one part pure gold and 23 parts another metal. 18 karats indicate 18 parts pure gold and the remainder is another metal. Pure gold is too soft for everyday use, so it’s alloyed with silver, copper, and a dash of zinc to make it stronger and more durable. This, together with its resistance to rust, tarnish, and corrosion, ensures that the final product will last for many generations. Although yellow gold is still the most popular color, gold is now available in a wide range of colors. Alloying, which involves adding other metals to pure 24 carat gold, increases the durability of malleable gold while also changing its color. Pure gold is alloyed with white metals such as palladium or silver to produce white gold. Additionally, it is generally plated with rhodium to give it a stronger, brighter brilliance. Gold has one of the highest atomic numbers of any substance in the universe at 79. Produced in a supernova from a collision of neutron stars soon after the big bang forming what is now our solar system and the rest of the universe. There is gold present in the Earth’s core. But the gold that is found closer to the surface that we mine today most likely arrived to our planet via an asteroid impact during the Late Heavy Bombardment era about 4 billion years ago

CUBIC ZIRCONIA

Cubic Zirconia (CZ) is a low-cost diamond substitute that has many of the same properties as diamonds. This crystalline substance (or CZ) is synthetic, meaning it is manufactured in a lab for commercial production in the 1970s due to increased demands for this stone. Because cubic zirconia resembles diamonds but is not the same material, it is known as faux, false, imitation, and stimulant.
Cubic zirconia is a magnificent stone in and of itself; it only becomes a problematic purchase when it is advertised as a diamond.

Cubic zirconia can be cut and shaped in the same popular ways as diamonds and colorful gemstones.

A white CZ is totally colorless, with none of the imperfections present in natural diamonds—consider it as too flawless.

Cubic zirconia has more color flashes (fire) than diamonds.

Colorful varieties of CZ are also available and have grown in popularity in tandem with the trend toward fancy color gemstones.

A five-tiered system of A (lowest grade) to AAAAA (highest grade) is used to designate cubic zirconia qualities. Rated from lowest quality grade to highest, A, or 1A, are considered the lowest grade of machine-cut CZ while AAAAA, or 5A, are considered the very best. Something uses 5A CZ quality.

NATURAL GEMS

A natural gemstone is a mineral, stone, or organic matter that can be cut and polished or treated in other ways for use as jewelry or
other ornament. A precious gemstone is identified by its beauty, durability, and rarity, whereas a semiprecious gemstone possesses
only one or two of these characteristics. A cut and polished gemstone is referred to as a gem. Natural gemstones are formed in nature with no human intervention other than mining, cutting/faceted, and polishing. If a stone is labeled as natural, it has not been treated, enhanced, or altered in any way. Our planet, which formed about 4.5 billion years ago, is made up of several layers: the Earth’s crust, which ranges in depth from 3 to 25 miles, the mantle, and the core. The majority of gemstones form as minerals under various conditions in the rocks of the Earth’s crust, with only a few forming in the mantle. The crust is composed of three types of rock, known as igneous, metamorphic, and sedimentary rock in geology. The crust is where all gemstones are mined. They are usually mined and then sent to a lapidary for final cleaning. This could entail grinding away the matrix or rock in which the gemstone was buried, followed by cutting or faceting.

DIAMOND

A diamond is the only gemstone that is composed entirely of a single element: carbon. One or more trace elements make up the remaining 0.05 percent. These trace elements have the ability to change the color or shape of the crystal. A mineral’s identity is de- termined by the way it develops. Diamonds form only at a precise depth (approximately 100 miles) beneath the earth’s surface, when extreme temperatures and pressures occur. The carbon atoms in a diamond’s crystal structure are connected in essentially the same way in all directions, which is known as isometry. Transparency, luster, light dispersion, and color are the four primary optical qualities of diamonds. Diamonds are absolutely translucent and clear in its pure carbon state. Perfection is nearly impossible to achieve as in all natural substances while their opacity is caused by the inclusion of additional minerals and elements.

FASHION JEWELRY

“Fashion jewelry,” refers to any jewelry that is not made of precious metals. Fashion jewelry, also known as “costume jewelry,” is frequently made from base metals such as brass, copper, or aluminum. Fashion jewelry serves a completely different purpose than fine jewelry; it is designed to be enticing but inexpensive. As a result, precious metals are not used in fashion jewelry.The primary distinc- tion between fashion jewelry and fine jewelry is the type of materials used to create it. Fashion jewelry, is typically made with simulated stones and base metals .

Fashion jewelry is ideal for trendy pieces that you are unlikely to wear for decades. There are virtually no rules in the composition or material. Designed pieces are decorated jewelry items that have been designed to look exactly like fine jewelry or real jewelry, despite the use of lower-quality materials such as brass inside the thin gold-plated layer.