METALS USED IN JEWELRY MAKING

Aluminium or aluminum is a chemical elements with the symbol Al. Aluminum is a silvery and ductile member of the poor metal group. Aluminum is found primarily in bauxite ore and is remarkable for its ability to resist corrosion (due to the phenomenon of passivation) and its light weight. The metal is used in many industries to manufacture a large variety of products and is very important to the world economy. Structural components made from aluminum and its alloys are vital to the aerospace industry and very important in other areas of transportation and building. Although aluminum has been used in jewelry, it is not widely accepted or used frequently.

Argentium or ARGENTIUM™ Sterling Silver is an alloy of silver made to a higher standard than traditional sterling silver and is guaranteed to be not less than 92.5% (minimum millesimal fineness) pure. When standard sterling silver is heated in air, copper oxide is formed – this oxide penetrates below the surface of the material and causes a dark, disfiguring stain called firescale. Argentium does not develop firescale. and remains unstained throughout the heating process. It can be made nearly twice as hard as annealed standard sterling silver by a simple heat treatment. With this most important advance in silver technology in modern times, unlike standard sterling silver, Argentium is virtually tarnish-free and stays how silver was meant to be: forever beautiful. Argentium does not require the chemical treatment to maintain the high luster, therefore it does not have the allergic effect on some people as does normal Sterling Silver.

Brass is the term used for alloys of copper and zinc; the proportions of zinc and copper can be varied to create a range of brasses each with unique properties and color. Do not confuse with Bronze that is an alloy of copper and tin. Despite this distinction, some types of brasses are called bronzes. Brass is a substitutionally alloy. Brass has a yellow color, somewhat similar to gold. It is relatively resistant to tarnishing, and is often used as decoration, jewelry and for coins.

Bronze refers to a broad range of copper alloys, usually with tin as the main additive, but sometimes with other elements such as phosphorus, manganese, aluminum, or silicon. It is strong and tough and has myriad uses in industry. It was particularly significant in antiquity, giving its name to the Bronze Age. Bronze is the most popular metal for top-quality bells and cymbals, and more recently, saxophones. It is also widely used for cast metal sculpture and some jewelry. Common bronze alloys often have the unusual and very desirable property of expanding slightly just before they set, thus filling in the finest details of a mold. Bronze parts are tough and durable.

Copper is a chemical element with the symbol Cu. It is a ductile metal with excellent electrical conductivity, and finds extensive use as an electrical conductor, thermal conductor, as a building material, and as a component of various alloys used in jewelry. Copper is an essential nutrient to all higher plants and animals. In animals, it is found primarily in the bloodstream, as a cofactor in various enzymes, and in copper-based pigments. In sufficient amounts, copper can be poisonous or even fatal to organisms. Copper has played a significant part in the history of mankind, which has used the easily accessible uncompounded metal for nearly 10,000 years. Copper is a reddish-colored metal, with a high electrical and thermal conductivity (silver is the only pure metal to have a higher electrical conductivity at room temperature). Copper oxidizes easily giving it its green coloration. Non-oxidized copper has its characteristic color because it reflects red and orange light and absorbs other frequencies in the visible spectrum, due to its band structure. This can be contrasted with the optical properties of silver, gold and aluminum. Copper occupies the same family of the periodic table as silver and gold, since they each have one S-orbital electron on top of a filled shell. This similarity in electron structure makes them similar in many characteristics. All have very high thermal and electrical conductivity, and all are malleable metals, making them useful in the jewelry trade. The purity of copper is expressed as 4N for 99.99% pure or 7N for 99.99999% pure. The numeral gives the number of nines after the decimal point when expressed as a decimal (eg 4N means 0.9999, or 99.99%). NOTE: some people will cause Copper and Copper Alloys to turn a bright green.

Elegente gives jewelry the gorgeous look of platinum, without the price tag. This unique sterling silver and 1% platinum blend offers incredible luster in vintage and classic jewelry designs.

Gold is a chemical element with the symbol Au. It is a highly sought-after precious metal which, for many centuries, has been used as money, a store of value and in jewelery. The metal occurs as nuggets or grains in rocks, in underground veins and in alluvial deposits. It is a dense, soft, shiny, yellow metal, and is the most malleable and ductile of the known metals. Chemically, gold is a trivalent and univalent transition metal. Gold does not react with most chemicals, but is attacked by chlorine, fluorine, aqua regia and cyanide. Gold dissolves in mercury, forming amalgam alloys. In particular, gold is insoluble in nitric acid, which will dissolve most other metals. Nitric acid has long been used to confirm the presence of gold in items, and this is the origin of the colloquial term "acid test," referring to a gold standard test for genuine value. The most common carats used for gold in bullion, jewelry making and goldsmithing are:

999 (24 karat) (millesimal fineness 999)

916 (22 karat) (millesimal fineness 916)

833 (20 karat) (millesimal fineness 833)

750 (18 karat) (millesimal fineness 750)

625 (15 karat) (millesimal fineness 625)

585 (14 karat) (millesimal fineness 585)

417 (10 karat) (millesimal fineness 417)

375 ( 9 karat) (millesimal fineness 375)

The use of the carat (karat in North American spelling) is a system of denoting the purity of gold by fractions of 24, such as "18 carat" for an alloy with 75% (18 parts per 24) pure gold. The carat (karat) term is only associated with gold, millesimal fineness is used for all other precious metals. NOTE: some people will cause Gold, especially Yellow Gold, to turn green.

Gold Filled jewelry or any other item with a sheet of gold applied to its surface, can be called Gold Filled. Newer items contain markings that indicate how much and what type of gold was used in the layering. Example: a marking of 1/20 12K G.F. means that the piece is at least 1/20th 12K gold by weight.

Gold Plated jewelry or any other item that has a very thin layer of gold applied to it. The thin layer normally wears away more quickly than gold in a gold filled item.

Nickel is a chemical element with the symbol Ni. Nickel is a silvery white metal that takes on a high polish. It belongs to the transition metals, and is hard and ductile. It occurs combined with sulfur in millerite, with arsenic in the mineral niccolite, and with arsenic and sulfur in nickel glance.Because of its permanence in air and its inertness to oxidation, it is used in coins, for plating iron, brass , many jewelry pieces, and in certain alloys, such as German silver. It is magnetic, and is very frequently accompanied by cobalt, both being found in meteoric iron. It is chiefly valuable for the alloys it forms, especially many superalloys.Nickel is one of the five ferromagnetic elements. WARNING - nickel plated jewelry, especially earrings can cause allergic reactions on many people.

Palladium is a chemical element with symbol Pd. It is a rare silver-white transition metal of the platinum group, resembling platinum chemically. It was discovered in platinum ores in 1803, and named after the asteroid Pallas by William Hyde Wollaston. Palladium is usually found as a free metal, alloyed with others in the platinum group. It is commercially extracted from copper-nickel ores. Palladium has a great affinity for hydrogen, being able to absorb 900 times its own volume of the gas. Palladium metal and its complexes are often used in catalysis such as in catalytic converters on cars, palladium on carbon used in organic chemistry, and other coupling reactions. As a precious metal, it is sometimes used in jewelry.

Pewter is a metal alloy, traditionally between 85 and 99 percent tin, with the remainder consisting of 1-4 percent copper, acting as a hardener, with the addition of lead for the lower grades of pewter and a bluish tint. Traditionally, there were three grades of pewter: fine, for eatingware, with 96-99 percent tin, and 1-4 percent copper; trifle, also for eating and drinking utensils but duller in appearance, with 92 percent tin, 1-6 percent copper, and up to 4 percent lead; and lay or ley metal, not for eating or drinking utensils, which could contain up to 15 percent lead. Modern pewter mixes the tin with copper, antimony, and/or bismuth as opposed to lead. Physically, pewter is a bright, shiny metal that is very similar in appearance to silver. Like silver, pewter will also oxidize to a dull gray over time if left untreated. Pewter is a very malleable alloy, being soft enough to carve with hand tools, and it also takes good impressions from punches or presses. Because of this inherent softness and malleability, however, pewter cannot be used to make tools itself. Some types of pewter pieces, such as candlesticks, would be turned on a metal lathe. Pieces produced through this technique are sometimes referred to as "holloware." Pewter has a low melting point of around 225-240°C (437-464°F) depending on the exact mixture of metals. Duplication by casting will give excellent results especially in jewelry making. Pewter is many times the base metal for Silver or Gold plating.

Platinum is a chemical element with the symbol Pt. A heavy, malleable, ductile, precious, grey-white transition metal, platinum is resistant to corrosion and occurs in some nickel and copper ores along with some native deposits. Platinum is used in jewelry, laboratory equipment, electrical contacts, dentistry, and automobile emissions control devices. Platinum jewelry achieves the highest value of all the jewelry metals. Platinum's wear and tarnish-resistance characteristics are well suited for making fine jewelry. Platinum is more precious than gold, and considerably more durable. The price of platinum changes along with its availability, but it normally costs slightly less than twice the price of gold. Platinum is also used in highly prized bullion coinage.

999 (also known as three nines fine)

950 (the most common purity for platinum jewellery)

900 (also known as one nine fine) 850 (rarely seen any longer)

Rhodium is a chemical element with the symbol Rh.. It is a rare silvery-white hard transition metal. Rhodium is a member of the platinum group, is found in platinum ores and is used in alloys with platinum and as a catalyst. It is the most expensive precious metal. Rhodium is a hard silvery white and durable metal that has a high reflectance. Rhodium metal does not normally form an oxide, even when heated. Oxygen is absorbed from the atmosphere at the melting point of rhodium, but on solidification the oxygen is released. Rhodium has both a higher melting point and lower density than platinum. It is not attacked by acids: it is completely insoluble in nitric acid and slightly dissolves in aqua regia. The primary use of this element is as an alloying agent for hardening platinum and palladium. This metal finds use in jewelry and for decorations. It is electroplated on white gold and platinum to give it a reflective white surface. This is known as rhodium flashing in the jewelry business. Rhodium is sometimes plated over Pewter, but when this occurs the item is very breakable.

Silver is a chemical element with the symbol Ag . It is a soft white lustrous transition metal, it has the highest electrical and thermal conductivity for a metal, and occurs as a free metal, and in minerals such as argentite and chlorargyrite. Most silver is produced as a by-product of copper, gold, lead, and zinc mining. Silver has been known since antiquity. Its main use then was as a precious metal — as currency, ornaments and jewelry, and as utensils (hence the term silverware). Today, in addition to such uses, it is found in photographic film, electrical contacts, and mirrors. Elemental silver is also used to catalyze chemical reactions. Silver has certain anti-microbial activity. In the past, dilute solutions of silver nitrate were used as disinfectants, though this has been supplanted by other treatments. In folklore, silver is able to repel vampires and kill werewolves.

999 (Fine silver used in bullion bars, also known as three nines fine)

980 (common standard used in Mexico ca.1930 - 1945)

958 (equivalent to Britannia silver)

950 (equivalent to "French 1st Standard")

925 (equivalent to Sterling silver)

900 (equivalent to "Coin silver" in the USA, also known as one nine fine)

830 (common standard used in older Scandinavian silver)

800 (minimum standard for silver in Germany after 1884)

Silver Plated jewelry or any other item that has a layer of Sterling Silver applied over a base metal.

Sterling Silver is an alloy of silver containing 92.5% pure silver and 7.5% other metals, usually copper. The minimum millesimal fineness is 925. Although all grades of Silver are used in jewelry, Sterling Silver at is the most widely accepted. Care should be taken when purchasing Sterling Silver Jewelry, as many people are allergic to the coating placed on Sterling Sliver to make it shiny. Silver is also a common coinage material. Fine silver (99.9% pure) is generally too soft for producing large functional objects, and in Sterling the silver is usually alloyed with copper to give strength whilst preserving the ductility of the silver and a high precious metal content. Other metals can replace the copper, usually with the intent to improve various properties of the basic sterling alloy such as reducing casting porosity, eliminating firescale, and increasing resistance to tarnish. These replacement metals include germanium, zinc, platinum as well as a variety of other additives including silicon and boron. A number of alloys claiming firescale and/or tarnish resistance have appeared in recent years sparking heavy competition between the various manufacturers and their different formulations. WARNING: The chemical treatment used on Sterling Silver to maintain the high luster does have an allergic effect on some people.

Tin is a chemical element with the symbol Sn . This silvery, malleable poor metal that is not easily oxidized in air and resists corrosion is found in many alloys and is used to coat other metals to prevent corrosion. Tin is obtained chiefly from the mineral cassiterite, where it occurs as an oxide. Tin is a malleable, ductile, highly crystalline, silvery-white metal; when a bar of tin is bent, a strange crackling sound known as the "tin cry" can be heard due to the breaking of the crystals. This metal resists corrosion from distilled, sea and soft tap water, but can be attacked by strong acids, alkalis, and by acid salts. Tin acts as a catalyst when oxygen is in solution and helps accelerate chemical attack. Tin is malleable at ordinary temperatures but is brittle when it is heated. The primary use of Tin in jewelry is for solders , but is normally combined with other jewelry metalsfor more durability and color match.

Titanium is a chemical element; with the symbol Ti. It is a light, strong, lustrous, corrosion-resistant (including resistance to sea water and chlorine) transition metal with a white-silvery-metallic color. Titanium can be alloyed with other elements such as iron, aluminium, vanadium, molybdenum and others, to produce strong lightweight alloys for aerospace (jet engines, missiles, and spacecraft), military, industrial process (chemicals and petro-chemicals, desalination plants, pulp and paper), automotive, agri-food, medical (prostheses), sporting goods, and other applicationto include strengthening of jewelry pieces, especially rings. Because it is biocompatible (non-toxic and is not rejected by the body), titanium is used in a gamut of medical applications including surgical implements and implants, such as hip balls and sockets (joint replacement) that can stay in place for up to 20 years. Titanium has the inherent property to osseointegrate, enabling use in dental implants that can remain in place for over 30 years. This property is also useful for orthopedic implant applications.

Vermeil also known as silver gilt, is a combination of sterling silver, gold, and other precious metals. It is commonly used as a component in jewelry. A typical example is sterling silver coated with 14-carat gold. To be considered as vermeil however, the gold must also be at least 10-carat and be at least 1.5 micrometers thick. Sterling silver covered with less gold or other metals cannot be called vermeil. To many, true vermeil is a combined form of sterling silver and gold, not gold plated silver or sterling silver. Vermeil can be produced by either fire-gilding or electrolysis. The original fire-gilding process was developed in France in the mid-1700s; however, France later banned the production of vermeil because over time artisans developed blindness due to mercury involved in the process. Today, vermeil is safely produced by electrolysis. Vermeil, Gold Plating and Gold Filled are many times used synonymously in the jewelry business, but should not be.

All highlighted/underlined wording in the above explanations are linked to the WIKIPEDIA Free Encyclopedia System and as such fall under the GNU Free Documentation License.