Precious Metals Gift Tips for buying gold or silver Platinum Jewelry

Precious Metals Gift Tips for buying gold or silver Platinum Jewelry   Buying jewelry can be fun, exciting and sometimes confusing. If you're considering a gift of jewelry for someone special or as a treatment for you, take some 'time to lea the terms used in the industry. Start with basics: carats and karats. What is the difference? To make simpler, a carat is a unit of weight for precious stones, including diamonds, one carat is a unit for measuring the purity of gold. The word gold, for example, used alone, means all gold or 24 karat (24K) gold. However, since 24K gold is very soft, it is usually mixed with other metals to increase its strength and durability. If a piece of gold jewelry is 24 carat, the carat quality should accompany any claim that the voice is golden. The karat quality tells you what percentage of gold is mixed with other metals. Fourteen karat (14K) contains 14 parts of gold jewelry, in all mixed with 10 parts of metal. The higher the karat rating, the highest percentage of gold. Most jewelry is marked with its karat quality, although this is not required by law. Near the karat quality mark, you should find the name of the registered trademark of the company behind the brand. If you do not see a sign on a piece of jewelry, find another piece. Jewelry can be plated with gold in a variety of ways. Gold plate refers to items that are made of metal and then covered with a layer of gold, either mechanically or electronically. Finally, the gold plating wears away, but how soon depends on how often the item is and as is often the shell. Full of gold, gold plate and gold are the terms used to describe jewelry that has a layer of 10 karat gold mechanically linked to a base metal. If the item is marked with any of these terms, the term or abbreviation should follow the karat quality of gold used. For example, 14K Gold Overlay or 12K RGP. Platinum is a precious metal used in jewelry and is more expensive than gold. It is usually mixed with metals such as palladium, iridium o. Quality labels that are different from platinum to gold. For platinum is based on parts per thousand. For example, the marking 900 Platinum means that 900 shares of 1000 are pure platinum. The abbreviations for platinum - Plat. Pt or can also be used in marking jewelry. The words silver or sterling silver describe a product that contains at least 92.5% silver. Silver Products are sometimes marked 925, which means that 925 parts per thousand pure silver. Under federal law, the quality of the silver must also bear the name or trademark in the U.S. society or the person behind the brand. Some items of jewelry or silver may be marked "silverplate" means a layer of silver attached to a base metal. Vermilion is a special type of product in gold, or consists of a base of silver which is coated or plated in gold. Pewter objects can be marked as such and if they contain at least 90% of tin. When you're in the market for a piece of jewelry for you or someone you love, shop around. Whether online, in catalogs or in a traditional store make comparisons. Compare quality, price and service. Ask about refund and retu policies before buying. And be sure to get a receipt containing all the information that is based on the time of checkout. Best wishes for a pleasant and rewarding shopping experience!