Precious Jewellery Metals Guide

Exclusively a gold jewellery person? Love mixing metals? For many of us, the precious metals we choose to wear are a part of who we are.

We’re all for you embracing the precious metal that calls your name — from classic yellow gold, to more adventurous rose gold or icy platinum. However, if you haven’t found your perfect match yet, then this is the guide for you.

We’ll go through the ins and outs of the most popular choices, as well as the more uncommon ones, giving you a full sense of what’s out there. You may even discover a new love (again, still talking about precious metals).

What Metals Are Used in Jewellery?

Before you decide on a piece of jewellery you like, first comes the question of what it will be made of.

The number of precious metals being used in jewellery is growing.

The Variety of Precious Jewellery Metals

Each type of precious metal comes in many forms. For example, many of us already know that gold isn’t ever just gold: it could be anything from 18k white gold, to 9k white gold, to 18k yellow gold. Carats, colours, and price points add lots of variety to the precious metal pool.

Colour, karat, shine, purity, strength, price, and rarity differ between each kind of precious metal — and the perfect one for your jewellery piece might look very different to what it is for someone else.

Can I Design An Engagement Ring With Sustainable Metals?

The origins of a precious metal matter just as much as the final, finished, polished product. Many of us who would rather not support mining may be looking for alternatives to the shiny things that are common to most jewellery store windows.

More and more of us are asking for jewellery we can feel good about — not just because it’s pretty, but because it does right by the planet, too. We’re asking for materials that aren’t associated with environmental destruction and other ugliness — materials that are a part of doing good in the world.

Is Gold Recyclable?

Due to its unique properties, gold is naturally renewable. Gold can be melted down and recycled over and over without ever losing its purity or value over time.

When we talk about recycled gold — we’re referring to gold that has been melted down from gold products that already exist. Gold bars that have been in circulation for a long time can be recycled. Similarly, retired gold jewellery can be recycled too.

The Issues with Mining

Gold mining has a dark history — and present. Mining is linked to human rights abuses, unethical labour practices, and destructive environmental impacts. To put things in perspective: over 20 tons of ore needs to be mined to produce a single gold ring. When we imagine how many of them are being made every day, it’s easy to see how relying on mined gold can result in environmental devastation.

Mining destroys the natural environment, creating unsightly chasms in the earth and a whole suite of issues: water pollution, carbon emissions, and habitat loss for animals and plants. Countless mines also encroach on the lands and sacred sites of indigenous peoples.

At Klara Allen, we are committed to providing ethical, environmentally-conscious fine jewellery.

The Differences Between 9k, 14k, and 18k Gold

Gold is naturally soft, which means that before it can be made into jewellery that is intended for everyday wear, it is mixed with other metals to strengthen it. For gold wedding and engagement rings — it’s essential that the gold lasts a long time, holds its lustre, and doesn’t scratch. Adding metals such as silver, tin, nickel, zinc, and palladium to gold reinforces its strength, and creates what’s known as an alloy.

The purity of a gold alloy is expressed in karats (k), with gold content measured as parts out of 24. 24-karat gold is pure, solid gold, whereas 9-karat gold (where nine parts out of 24 are pure gold) is generally the lowest amount of gold an alloy needs to contain to be still considered gold.

Being pure gold, 24k gold possesses the richest gold colour, but it’s also very soft and malleable, making it impractical for everyday wear.

Did you know?

A gold ring will usually have a three-digit number stamped on the inside of the band, indicating the purity of the gold alloy. The number 375 indicates 9k gold — as nine parts out of 24, expressed as a percentage, is 37.5%. 18k gold will have a 750 stamp to represent its 75% purity, and 14k gold will be marked with the number 585.

Why Choose 18k over 14k Gold?

18k and 14k are more commonly used in gold jewellery. They come at a similar price, but differ in durability and lustre.

18k Gold Makes for Longer Lasting Jewellery

18k gold is the alloy of choice used by most high-end jewellers. The strength and price point of 18k gold alloys are comparable to 14k gold, but 18k gold jewellery tends to last much longer. There are several technical reasons why this is known to be the case in the jewellery making community. For one, 18k gold has a higher elongation percentage than 14k gold, which means it is more likely to bend than break when pressure is applied. For a gold ring or pendant, this is important, as if any of the claws in your stone’s setting were to snap, you could lose the stone. This is why 18k gold tends to be preferred in engagement rings.

14k gold is also more likely to corrode than 18k gold due to its microporosity, making it less ideal for long-lasting wear.

Other Benefits of 18k Gold

Being closer to pure gold, 18k gold is more hypoallergenic than 14k gold. 18k gold has a lower percentage of other metals in the alloy, making it safer to wear for people with metal allergies. It also possesses that beautiful, buttery appearance and unmistakable shine that has captivated gold lovers for centuries.

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    Amy 3 claw pear solitaire in 18K gold.

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    Lucy shared prong wedding band in 18K gold.

The Perks of 9k Gold

9k gold is a strong alloy, ideal for chains and bracelets — which can be caught on objects and may snag more easily than other jewellery pieces like rings. Higher-carat gold is often used for very special, once-in-a-lifetime pieces like wedding and engagement rings. However, for fashion jewellery, 9k gold is sometimes more suitable, as it comes at a lower price point than purer forms of gold. Which means, you can have more of it.

Which Colour Gold?

Some of us are sure they’re gold-toned or silver-toned jewellery people, maybe from birth. Some of us love both equally — or think they look best when worn together.

Then there’s the third group: those who are undecided between yellow gold, rose gold, and white gold jewellery. This next section is for you.

Style and Colouring

Choosing between rose gold, white gold, and yellow gold has a lot to do with your personal style, what kind of jewellery you’re looking for (wedding ring? fashion piece?).

Wearing certain colours can highlight and accentuate aspects of your appearance that you love, too — so you might even want to use colour theory to aid your decision.

Beyond What Meets the Eye

Finding the right colour gold for you isn’t just about how it looks. Rose gold, white gold, and yellow gold all have their own properties that affect how they behave, too. Some are easier to resize than others, and some forms are more hypoallergenic than others.

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    White gold and yellow gold wedding rings.

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    Rose gold ring with an eternity band.

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    Yellow gold and white gold wedding rings.

Is it hypoallergenic?

If you have a metal allergy, you’ll want to choose a gold alloy that is as close to pure gold as possible. Rose gold also won’t be a good choice for you. Rose gold is an alloy with a high proportion of copper, which is what gives it its lovely warm colour. However, the copper can cause a reaction if you have a metal allergy.

How easy is it to resize?

Rose gold solder is relatively new in the jewellery industry, which means awareness is very low. Many traditional jewellers won’t offer it as an option for your resize.
At Klara Allen we have access to rose gold solder. When you have a rose gold ring resized with us, the precious metal used in the ring and solder will be matched in strength and colour. Other jewellers might also use a lower-carat solder when doing a resize due to the lower cost.

White gold does require regular rhodium plating — so if you want something a bit more low maintenance, platinum will give you the colour you want without the need to maintain it.

The Platinum Family

There are several elements in the platinum family that are perfect for fine jewellery.

Platinum solder is also less common due to its high cost and high melting point, which makes it challenging to work with. Platinum has a higher melting point than gold, which means that heating platinum enough to make it into a liquid solder would also burn the stones.

Resizing Platinum Rings

If the metal in the solder isn’t a match for the metal in the ring, you will be able to see a join in a different colour where the resize has taken place. However, at Klara Allen we use a new, specialised laser machine that can solder precisely with platinum while keeping the stones intact.

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