metals - a primer

So many metals, so little time to study metallurgy. Here's a quick primer: each metal has its good qualities and bad qualities for a given application. There is no one metal that is good for all people, all pieces, all the time. We carry a much wider variety of metals than most jewelers. And if you find you like a certain style of piece in one metal, we often are able to deliver the same or similar in another.

platinum
Platinum is indeed an amazing metal. But, it is unfortunately represented by many jewelers as being indestructible, which is far from the truth. It bends about as easily as alloyed gold. And while it does not scratch deeply with normal wear, it scratches easily.

The amazing thing about platinum, a quality that no other jewelry metal emulates, is that it wears away very slowly. This makes it absolutely ideal for very delicate pieces, the most notable being prongs, which are small pieces of metal, meant to hold gems in place.

Most people are familiar with antique filigree rings (they look like lace, with a lot of pierced patterns in thin metal), and are under the impression that every last one was made of platinum. Well, no. There were plenty made in white gold. But, they didn't "live" past their first wearer. Why? They simply wore away. In practical terms, some folks are lucky enough to have a wearable platinum ring passed down from a great-grandmother, while others only have the stones that were in her gold one.

So, platinum is a metal on which we insist for prong-work and pavé setting, and for delicate pieces of all types. Beyond that, we don't push platinum on folks, unless they prefer it-for whatever reason. On reason we hear often is that someone is interested in possessing an heirloom-a piece that can be passed down from generation to generation.
Heirlooms come at a price however. Platinum's expense often precludes it from being used to make heavier or larger pieces.

Platinum's white color makes it desirable for diamond-set jewelry, because that whiteness enhances and complements the diamonds. But its so-called "patina" (a romantic word for the particular fuzzy light produced by the myriad of shallow scratches that platinum acquires) is not to everyone's taste.

So, to synopsize: not indestructible, ideal for delicate pieces or parts, the only way to produce an heirloom, great for enhancing diamonds, whiter than most precious metals, develops a patina which is not universally appreciated.

karat gold

Karat gold refers to alloyed (as opposed to pure) gold. The most common karatages of gold seen in the US are 14K and 18K.

To better understand karatage, here's a simple lesson: 24K gold is pure gold. Pure gold is an element on the periodic table. All pure gold has the same color, density, and other physical properties.

18K gold is 18/24ths pure gold by weight. That leaves 6/24ths by weight that can be any number of other metals. You will notice that 18 divided by 24 is 75%. Accordingly, European 18K gold is stamped "750".

14K gold is 14/24ths pure gold by weight. In Europe, it is stamped "583" or "585".
Technically, all that is required to call karat gold a specific karatage is the weight percentage of pure gold in the mixture-the remaining percentage could be any other metals whatsoever.
Obviously, years and years of trial and error, and then many more years of technological advances, have taught us that certain alloy mixtures produce more desirable results than others. The right color, the right physical properties (thus affecting durability), and the lack of allergic reaction or toxicity all come into play.

Karat gold comes in nearly every color of the rainbow: yellow, white, rose, peach, green, blue, black, purple. But blue gold, which is alloyed with cobalt, can only be used to make accents on a piece, as opposed to being the primary metal used in a piece of jewelry. Likewise with purple.
White gold can range from a cheap, nickel-heavy alloy that is the culprit behind many white gold allergies, or an expensive, far whiter, palladium alloy that is strong and beautiful. Since white gold is made from a pure yellow metal, it is technically not "white" in the way that platinum or silver are. Technically, it is a very, very, very light yellow. It is so stripped of the yellow color we associate with pure gold that it is, for all intents and purposes, a "white" metal.

Yellow gold can be a delicate blond color, or a very rich, deep orangey-yellow color. Correctly alloyed, 18K yellow is as durable as 14K yellow.

Karat gold, in all its colors, is a great "go-to" metal for many pieces. It endures, it can be repaired with ease, and it does not tarnish.

palladium

You might think palladium is a new jewelry metal. Actually, palladium is enjoying resurgence, but has seen uses in jewelry in the past. It is only in recent years, however, that technology has somewhat caught up with this metal's challenges.

Palladium is one of six members of the platinum group on the periodic table. But, don't let its membership in the platinum group lead you to believe it is very much like platinum as it applies to jewelry, as it is not.

Rhodium, for example, is another member of the platinum group, but it is suitable only for plating applications. Iridium, another member, is only used in jewelry as an alloy for platinum, but not in and of itself.

Please don't let anyone confuse you on this. Nothing is like platinum except platinum.
So why the resurgence in palladium jewelry?

Well, when palladium was first used for jewelry in 1939, it was out of necessity. Platinum was banned from all uses other than military ones. You will notice that none of that palladium jewelry exists today. That's because palladium's natural brittleness precluded its longevity. As soon as the ban on platinum use lifted, no one produced palladium jewelry.

Fast forward to the 80s, when platinum was at an all-time low in popularity. Jewelry was produced on the "bigger is better" theory. While few people wanted to spend the extra money on a nice, secure, white prongs made of platinum, they wished for a whiter, yet still reasonably-priced alternative to white gold for prongs.

Enter prongs made of palladium. Hey-they're white, but they're still relatively inexpensive!
The bad news-that natural brittleness of palladium meant that the tips of palladium prongs would "shear off" rather unexpectedly. All but very few manufacturers abandoned production of palladium parts and pieces within five years of embarking on that production.

Fast forward once again, to recent years, which have seen a meteoric rise in the price of platinum. What to do about producing jewelry that is whiter than white gold but less expensive than platinum?

Back to the drawing board with palladium. Thankfully, enough people were committed to examining palladium on a metallurgical level, so that some suitable alloys (mixtures with other metals) of palladium were finally developed.

Alara uses the Hoover and Strong 950 Tru-Pd alloy mixture. It polishes up beautifully, and has far less brittleness than pure palladium.

But, there is one thing we would like to make very clear: as much as white gold is actually very, very light yellow; palladium is not white either-it's light gray. If you compare platinum to palladium side by side, you will notice that palladium, while having no tinge of yellow, is not nearly as white as platinum.

Consequently, we find that we often make pieces in palladium for men. It has a more masculine color than white gold, and usually is not "asked" to hold diamonds or other gems in place when used in men's pieces.

sterling silver and fine silver

Fine (pure) silver is actually the whitest metal out of which jewelry is crafted. For most applications, however, it is too soft for use in any jewelry that will be "put to the test."
Sterling silver is actually 92.5% pure (hence it is often stamped "925"). It is a beautiful, luminous, affordable, precious metal, suitable for many different styles and forms of jewelry.

It is not suitable for bridal jewelry or other daily-wear rings, however, because it simply does not do well over the long run on pieces that see a lot of wear. It is a soft metal, one that wears away quickly. If you want to set stones in a silver pendant or earrings, that's fine-usually one doesn't knock those pieces against surfaces very much. But rings? Not such a great idea if you want to wear it every day for a long time.

Nearly all the sterling silver jewelry produced in Mexico, the Central and South Americas, and the Far East, are heavily alloyed with nickel. Nickel is at the root of most skin reactions, allergies, and other toxin issues related to jewelry wear.

If you believe you simply "can't wear silver," please give Alara silver jewelry a try. All of our sterling silver jewelry is nickel-free. That's because a lot of our sterling silver comes from Europe, where nickel is not used as an alloy for silver; and the remainder is crafted by us or by other designers who also would rather produce a better piece of jewelry at a slightly higher price, than save money where it seems silly to do so.

titanium

Oh, the myths about titanium.

There's so many good things to say about titanium, but it seems we always have to start off by dispelling myths first…

Myth #1: Titanium cannot be cut. So, a titanium ring cannot be cut off a finger.

First of all, titanium jewelry is made by cutting it. There is nothing to prevent an Alara titanium ring from being cut off a finger, should the necessity arise. Because titanium is tougher than other jewelry metals, it does take a little longer. But the exact same cutter as would be used to cut off a gold ring can cut through an Alara titanium ring (see Myth #2) in roughly 5 to 7 minutes.

Secondly, let's consider the most typical reason a person would need to have a ring cut off their finger in the first place. What do you think the reason is?

The reason is that a ring bends, and thereby compresses the finger.

Well guess what? A titanium ring is highly unlikely to bend. Titanium is the strongest metal by weight in the world. If you actually manage to bend your titanium ring, you have exposed your finger to so much force, that the metal out of which your ring were made would make no difference in terms of saving your finger!

Interestingly enough, Alara has a number of doctors as clients (three of whom work in emergency rooms), who chose titanium as the material for their wedding rings. That's a pretty good endorsement, we think.

Myth #2: All titanium jewelry is alloyed with vanadium.

Nope. But a whole lot of it is.

Alara does not carry aerospace grade alloys of titanium, which typically contain vanadium. Alara only sells pure titanium jewelry.

Why?

A couple reasons.

First of all, vanadium is added to titanium for reasons that hardly seem applicable to jewelry. Rather, the reasons are more pertinent if you were making something for aerospace application or sports equipment, say. Vanadium makes titanium very, very hard. So hard, in fact, that the "cutting off the ring" issue starts to rear its ugly head. While vanadium-titanium rings can be cut off, it sure does take a long time.

Vanadium also makes titanium easier to machine.

So, the main reasons titanium is alloyed with vanadium have to do with ease of manufacture and to change its properties for use in non-jewelry objects.

Alara hates vanadium. We don't like how ultra-hard it makes jewelry, when that is unnecessary. We also are somewhat nervous about the fact that vanadium is toxic. While its toxicity when inhaled is unchallenged, no studies have been done to determine its toxicity during extended contact with the skin. Why risk it? And why carry jewelry that during its production, could expose workers to small pieces of material, small enough to be inhaled?

Titanium, simply put, is an amazing material for making jewelry. In our 10 years of experience selling it, we have found the great bulk of "myth talking" to originate with jewelers who opt not to learn about it or carry it.

There's a lot for a jeweler to learn, so they could be discouraged. Unlike jewelry made of precious metal, the great majority of titanium jewelry is machined from solid blocks of material. Its hardness precludes it from being easily welded, so it is, for most intents and purposes, not alterable.

So, the burden of proper finger sizing (part art, part science) falls to the jeweler. For jewelers that are accustomed to spending little time sizing fingers, but plenty of time re-sizing rings, that could be a task that sounds too difficult to tackle.

Then there's the education of customers. As this page shows, there's a large quantity of information that needs to be dispensed so that the jewelry decisions one's customers make are informed ones.

Titanium is a gray metal, a strong metal, and a very lightweight metal. It is chemically inert, which means you can expose it to household chemicals with no concerns about ruining it, and it makes it completely hypo-allergenic.

The light weight of titanium jewelry often appeals to men, particularly those who have never worn jewelry before.

Its physical properties make it ideal for many active folks of both genders. Those same physical properties, however, determine that titanium jewelry is usually machined, which by its very nature results in pieces that have a certain "light industrial" to "industrial" quality.

It is also one of very few metals that naturally has the right physical properties to allow for a diamond to be securely "tension-set". This is an intriguing and appealing setting technique, one that has a lower failure rate than many traditional setting techniques in precious metal.

tungsten

Commonly referred to as "tungsten steel" or "tungsten carbide," tungsten is actually a separate element on the periodic table. It is processed with carbon and ground to a powder.The mixed metal powder is compressed in high pressure dies to for a ring blank. The blank is then fired in an oxygen-free over at 2400 degrees Fahrenheit. The result is a solid metal ring with extreme hardness and toughness. Only corundum (sapphire, ruby) or diamond can scratch its surface.As a consequence, it requires a complex 30-step grinding and polishing process using diamond tools to finish a piece of tungsten jewelry.

nickel-free stainless steel

Less expensive than titanium, stainless steel is another great metal for jewelry. While relatively unknown to most Americans, stainless steel jewelry has been produced in Europe for over 20 years, and widely accepted there for about 15.

With good reason.

Stainless steel, as you know from your stainless steel sink or stainless steel flatware, has many desirable qualities: non-tarnishing, non-staining, durable, impervious to chemical attack, consistent in color. And, when made in the thicknesses that jewelry is made, practically impossible to distort without sheer abuse.

Like titanium, well-made stainless steel jewelry is machined, not cast. It is also unsizable or unalterable. Again, this means the onus is on the professional jeweler to properly and carefully size your finger.

Stainless steel is available in many grades. Just like our silver jewelry, Alara's three stainless steel jewelry lines are also nickel-free. That makes it hypo-allergenic. Earrings can be put in, and left in. Rings can be worn in hot tubs. It's a wonderful, affordable jewelry metal.
Stainless steel jewelry is usually produced in heavy (thick) gauges. Consequently, it has a very contemporary, industrial look. Most folks just call it "cool."