We decided to start a new series here on our Cupid Stone blog called “Jewelry 101” which is where we talk more in-depth about all things jewelry. Today we wanted to focus on different types of metals that’s used in your favorite types of jewelry. We thought this would be a useful post since ordering jewelry online can be tricky when you don’t know a lot about metals or can’t tell the difference between yellow gold and white gold. Let’s begin!
The top kinds of metal that’s frequently used is silver, gold, platinum, and titanium. Here are more details of each metal:
Silver
You’ll typically hear the words “sterling silver” which is 92.5% silver and 7.5% copper. Sterling silver is a popular material for jewelry since it doesn’t easily get damaged and is long lasting. Compared to other types of metals such as gold, it does tarnish easier since it’s a softer material.
Gold
This kind of jewelry is usually made up of gold and other metals combined such as copper, nickel, and zinc. You’ve probably heard of gold described in Karats but what does that really mean? It’s simply a way to measure the amount of pure gold to other materials in the piece of jewelry. Remember, the higher the Karats, the more expensive the piece of jewelry will be. The maximum gold content in jewelry is 24k!
Pure gold is yellow in color while other metals that are mixed in can give jewelry a unique color such as white gold (mixed with zinc or silver), rose gold (mixed with copper), and even green gold (results from removing all copper from gold and just having pure gold and silver). There’s so much variety with gold jewelry and that’s why it’s such a popular material!
Platinum
Did you know platinum is the rarest metal? It’s also the most expensive since it’s so hard to find! It’s typically used in men’s wedding bands and cuff links because it doesn’t tarnish and never gets damaged. Platinum is typically alloyed with metals such as copper, rhodium, and osmium.
Titanium
This metal is the hardest metal that exists! This is another kind of metal that’s typically seen in men’s jewelry since it’s so much more stronger than gold, silver, and platinum. One of the more unique features of this metal is that it’s so easy to color and hypoallergenic which means you should look into buying titanium pieces if you are in the market for body jewelry. Just make sure to not buy any titanium rings! Titanium is non-adjustable and can’t be re-sized since it’s so strong.
Hope you enjoyed this post!
-Cupid Stone team
