JEWELLERY MYTHS
All jewellery is the same
How do you recognise good craftsmanship and good design? Is it worth paying more for what appears to be a similar piece of jewellery?
Most people accept that haute couture fashion is different from ready-to-wear. It is made by hand, is tailored to fit you, uses different quality of fabrics and produces exclusive designs. This also applies to jewellery. A piece of jewellery will look, feel and behave differently depending on the grade and thickness of gold/platinum used and whether it is machine or handmade. It will also face the test of time differently if this very special piece of jewellery was designed and made specially for you.
Deborah Windfield Jewellery spends the time to talk to you about design, budget and only uses the highest grades of metal. All our pieces are subjected to a very high standard of quality control before being released to you.
The safest place for my jewellery is on me
Diamond might be the strongest gemstone but if it is subjected to a strong blow or drop in the wrong place, it can cleave and fracture. The same applies to the metal … if it is hit repeatedly over a period of time, it will show some pits and marks and will wear out quicker than it should. So what’s the answer to safeguard the beauty of your jewellery?
Don’t wear your jewellery when doing any strenuous activity where the metal and/or stones are likely to be under stress, i.e. gardening, cooking. Avoid metal pans and door handles, wear gloves at the gym. Diamonds will need regular cleaning to remain bright and sparkling.
9ct Gold is stronger than 18ct Gold
Metal hardness is measured by what is called the Vickers scale where harder metals receive a higher Vickers score than less hard metals. 9ct Gold has a Vickers hardness ranging from 80 to 120 – depending on the composition and condition – and 18ct Gold a Vickers hardness ranging from 135 to 165.
First of all let’s start by defining what a carat means. A carat simply means 1/24th – i.e. one part of 24 – pure gold being 24 carat. 9 carat must be at least 9 parts gold out of 24 which is equivalent to 37.5%. The other 62.5% is made up of alloying additions – the most common being copper and silver, whilst palladium, nickel and zinc are also used. 18 carat which is 18 parts out of 24 pure, is equivalent to 75% gold, the remaining 25% is composed of the same type of alloying additions than 9 carat.
Most people are aware that gold in its purest form is too soft to be used successfully in jewellery. It is also common knowledge that when gold is alloyed with other metals it becomes harder. Many people assume that the more ‘other’ metals added the strong and harder the resultant alloy. But this is untrue as in general, most common 18ct gold alloys are both harder and harder wearing than their 9ct gold counterparts.
Hardness and durability are not one and the same thing. Because 9ct gold has less pure gold in its make up, it tends to be slightly brittle whereas 18ct gold alloys tend to be more resilient.
