Gold Jewelery Have Retained Their Charm
Various metals are utilized in jewelry design. At first, the most ancient cultures wore copper ornaments. Later, bronze and brass gained popularity. When gold and silver were first mined, it became much more costly to ornament oneself with the lovely objects that resulted. Still, the people's love affair with jewelry went on growing. Along with gold and silver, many crave ornamental objects containing platinum, diamonds and pearls. And yet, gold remains the most sought-after substance for jewelry. The fascination with gold has never diminished throughout the ages.
However, gold is a very costly metal. As such, people with limited income, typically belonging to the so-called "middle class" can not bear to buy jewelry made of pure gold. As such, some less costly material such as copper or silver is mixed with gold to reduce the cost of jewelry. This does not negatively impact the visual appeal of gold jewelry.
A carat is a unit that measures the percentage of gold in a mixture of gold and another metal. In jewelry stores, signs that label the number of carats in a piece of jewelry are common. A 24 carat piece is made of solid gold, but an 18 carat piece is comprised of 75 percent gold and 25 percent of another metal, which might cost a little less.
It is very difficult to make 24 carat gold ornaments because gold is a malleable but weak material. Because of its low tensile strength, small pieces can chip off from an ornament made out of pure gold. Only gold biscuits or coins made of almost pure gold are available for buyers. Other than these, you will have to choose from the alloyed gold jewelry.
If you are somebody who does not have a fortune to splurge on gold jewelry, do not be disheartened. There are several ways you can buy jewelry that looks equally good, if not better, than 22 carat jewelry. One way is buying semi precious jewelry that marries semi precious stones such as ruby, sapphire, and emerald with 14k jewelry.
You may also go for silver jewelry that has been plated with gold. This looks similar to jewelry made from gold. If the quality of gold plating or polish is good, it becomes extremely difficult to tell the difference with the naked eye.
Fascination for gold jewelery has only grown over the centuries. There are a variety of ways to buy jewelry that looks just as good, often better, than 22 carat jewelry. One way to do this is to buy semi precious jewelry that combines semi precious stones like sapphires, rubies, and emeralds with 14k jewelry. Another possible alternative is to purchase silver jeweler that has gold coating on it. Only a jeweler can claim to successfully distinguish gold plated silver jeweler from pure gold jewelry at all times. Yes, they look so similar to pure gold jewelry.
Published June 4th, 2008
