Gold

Since the beginning of time gold has been one of the favourite metals for jewellers.
Its beauty and permanence inspired craftsman to create unique objects of desire, made gold a symbol of love and heritage. It’s been treasured throughout the history by civilisations, reserving gold for the most important objects associating with power, wealth, and happiness. Most of the gold produced today is used for jewellery manufacture.

Gold has the very desirable combination of physical and mechanical properties, it has superior electrical conductivity, and resistance to corrosion. Gold is an extremely heavy metal. One cubic foot of gold weighs half of a tonne. Gold is rare. Only one ounce of metal can be produced from several tonnes of ore. Pure gold is very soft and rarely used in jewellery. Additions of other metals make it exceptionally strong. Gold is not effected by heat, air and moisture, it is also resistant to tarnish. All these properties make gold a valuable commodity.

Purity of gold is defined by its percentage. 100% pure gold is defined as 24 carat gold. As mentioned earlier, pure gold is too soft for most jewellery, so it’s mixed with other metals such as cooper, silver, nickel and zinc for its durability. Purity is indicated by caratage and noted by a number followed by “ct”. Sometimes the numbers 750, 585 or 375 are stamped on the item. These numbers represent the percentage of pure gold used in the alloy. For example 750 represents 18ct gold, as it has 75% pure gold in it.

Yellow Gold

Gold’s natural colour and is the most common gold used for jewellery. It is usually alloyed with cooper and silver. The colour depends on the content of gold and other metals. A more pure gold has a brighter yellow colour.

White Gold

It differs from yellow gold by the addition of alloys. Usually they are palladium or nickel, zinc and cooper. Recently it became very popular opposing to traditional yellow gold. White gold has the same properties as yellow gold. Sometimes it is plated with rhodium, an even whiter metal, to enhance its appearance. At Ross Hyde Jewellery our white gold is sourced in New Zealand and is one of the highest quality, containing a high percentage of platinum and palladium.

Rose Gold

Is made by alloying gold with cooper, which gives it a beautiful soft red colour.

Silver

For thousands of years Silver has been used for jewellery and ornaments. The first major source of mined silver is the area of Anatolia, modern Turkey. The Chaldeans are considered to have processed silver ore around 2500 BC. Asia Minor and the Greek islands were the center of silver craftsmanship.

Silver is a popular metal for jewellery, but is softer than gold and platinum and does not have the hardness of other metals. Silver, for jewellery, is used in the form of Sterling Silver. Sterling Silver is 92.5% silver and 7.5% copper and is one of the most popular metals in the jewellery trade. Sterling Silver is durable and long lasting, and so is a popular metal for rings, necklaces, bracelets, cuff links, belt buckles, body jewellery and much more. Sterling Silver jewellery can be casual and comfortable, and simultaneously display its timeless elegance. Silver’s pure white color suits all skin tones and throws a pleasant glow onto the wearer’s complexion. Silver is best used for jewellery that is not worn every day. It is prone to tarnishing and turns blackish. Of course, it can regain its pristine condition after a good hand polish, using cleaning solutions.

Platinum

Platinum’s unequalled durability and resistance to wear makes it the most secure and protective metal, which means your jewellery will be protected for a lifetime of wear. Platinum does not change shape or wear away so precious stones are held firmly and securely. Its durability comes from its high density and resistance to abrasion.  Used in jewellery, platinum is 95% pure (alloyed with palladium) and it is naturally hypoallergenic; ideal for those with sensitive skin. Platinum is found in very few places around the world and is 30 times more rare than gold.

Platinum jewellery is exclusive, a statement of individuality.