GUIDANCE

Below you will find some useful information to help you make a more informed decision when buying jewellery.

Guidance: Welcome

PRECIOUS METAL GUIDE

YELLOW GOLD:

Yellow gold is a gold alloy that consists of combining pure gold, copper and silver. This precious metal is always measured in karats. Yellow gold is the only type of gold that can be 24 karats, as white gold and rose gold require other metals in order to achieve their unique colours. A

piece of yellow gold jewellery that is considered to be 24 karats means that it is 100% pure gold.

18K Yellow Gold: 75% fine gold, 15% copper, 10% fine silver.
14K Yellow Gold: 58.5% fine gold, 29% copper, 12.5% fine silver.

WHITE GOLD:

White gold is comprised of a percentage of gold mixed with white metals like palladium, silver, zinc and nickel. This combination gives white gold its durability and strength. White gold is measured in 24 parts and karats.

18K White Gold: 75% fine gold, 10 % copper, 8% nickel, 4.5% zinc, and 2.5% silver.
14K White Gold: 58.5% fine gold, 12% copper, 8% nickel, 6% zinc, and 4.5% silver.
White Gold will need rhodium plating as it has a yellowish or grey appearance, depending on the alloys used.
Rhodium plating does wear off and will need re-plating every 1-3 years.

WHAT IS ROSE GOLD?

Rose gold is a very popular alloy comprised of traditional yellow gold and copper, which lends a beautiful pinkish colour to the metal. Rose gold can also be known as red gold. However, this term is misleading, as rose gold and red gold have different gold and copper combinations.

Rose gold contains approximately 75% gold and 25% copper silver alloy.
Red gold has 58.5% gold and 41.5% copper silver alloy.

WHAT IS PLATINUM?

Platinum is one of the few precious metals that can be made into jewellery with a majority of its natural form. In fact, most platinum jewellery is made up of 95% and 90% platinum. Unlike white gold and traditional yellow gold, platinum is a strong and durable metal, which means it doesn't need to be mixed with other alloys to strengthen it. Additionally, platinum jewellery doesn't need to be plated with rhodium materials to give it its beautiful silver appearance. Platinum is an extremely difficult metal for jewellers to work with and will feel much denser on the finger. For these reasons, platinum is more expensive than yellow gold or white gold jewelry. It is hypoallergenic, which means that consumers with nickel allergies won't have to worry about an allergic reaction.

Mostly used platinum alloys are;

95.2% platinum, 4.8% iridium
95.2% platinum, 4.8% ruthenium
95.2% platinum, 4.8% cobalt
90% platinum, 10% cobalt

WHAT IS PALLADIUM?

Palladium is the latest precious metal trend to hit the jewelry industry. Similar to platinum, palladium is a precious metal that has almost 95% purity. Therefore, the majority of palladium jewellery will be almost entirely comprised of this precious metal. Like platinum, palladium is incredibly dense and strong, so it doesn't need rhodium plating. This makes it a great option for consumers who want to capture the look and feel of platinum jewelry.

When mixed with white gold alloys, palladium improves white gold alloys color.

WHAT'S THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN KARAT AND CARAT?

Carat: A unit of measurement by which a diamond is weighed.

Karat: The measurement that shows the purity of the gold.

Guidance: Headliner

UNDERSTANDING DIAMONDS

Guidance: Products

The 4 C's of Diamonds

The Gemological Institute of America (GIA) created a comparison system to classify the rarity, quality and value of different diamonds. This is called the 4 Cs, which stand for Carat, Clarity, Colour and Cut.

Carat

Carat (ct) is a measure of the weight of a diamond. One carat is equivalent to 200 milligrams. One carat can also be divided into 100 “points”, so for example a 0.75ct diamond is the same as a 75-point or 3/4 carat diamond.

Clarity

Clarity refers to the presence of inclusions or imperfections in a diamond. Inclusions are natural occurring characteristics such as minerals or fractures, which appear while diamonds are formed in the earth. They may look like tiny crystals, clouds or feathers and can reduce the lustre the stone produces when light passes through.
Many inclusions are invisible to the naked eye and require a closer look under an eyeglass, or “loupe”, to be seen. The Gemological Institute of America (GIA) scale starts at F, which means a flawless stone with no inclusions, and goes to I, which means inclusions are visible to the naked eye. The different grades are:
F – Flawless
IF - Internally flawless
VVS1 & VVS2 - Very, very small inclusions, very hard to locate under 10x magnification and unable to be seen with the unaided eye
VS1 & VS2 - Very small inclusions, hard to locate under a 10x and unable to be seen with the unaided eye
SI1 & SI2 - Slight inclusions, easy to locate under a 10x, but cannot be seen with the unaided eye
I1, I2 & I3 - Inclusions that are visible to the unaided eye

Colour

Although most diamonds appear white, many actually display hints of colour barely visible to the naked eye. The closer a diamond is to colourless, the rarer and more valuable it is.
Diamonds are graded on a colour scale established by the Gemological Institute of America (GIA), which ranges from D (colourless) to Z.
Diamonds with strong pure colours such as red, blue, pink and yellow are classified separately and are known as “fancies”.

Cut

The cut refers to the angles and proportions of a diamond. The angles on a diamond, known as facets, reflect light back to the eye. The better a stone is cut, the more it will show the unique play of colours, known as fire, within the stone.
Cut also refers to the shape of the stone, such as round, square, pear, or heart, for example.

CONFLICT DIAMONDS AND THE KIMBERLY PROCESS

“Conflict diamonds” or “blood diamonds” are those that are sold illegally to fund conflict. The term was created when rebels in some African countries used diamonds to finance violence by rebel movements and their allies, seeking to undermine legitimate governments.
The Kimberley Process started when Southern African diamond-producing states met in Kimberley, South Africa, in May 2000, to discuss ways to stop the trade in “conflict diamonds”. The aim of this process is to stop the travel of rough diamonds around the world without the presence of a government-issued Kimberley Certificate, which guarantees that the diamonds or diamond jewellery are being sold from legitimate sources.