Lots of different kinds of materials can be used to create ornaments. In ancient times, copper ornaments were popular. Then, they gave way to bronze or brass pieces. After gold and silver became more readily available, the price of jewelry was affected, but more and more people became interested in buying trinkets. Other popular trinket materials include pearls, platinum, and diamonds. Even so, the most popular material for jewelry is gold, and it retains its popularity right down to the present day.
Even so, gold is expensive to purchase. People who aren’t rich usually can’t afford to acquire many pieces that are made of pure gold alone. That’s why other metals are often mixed in with the gold in jewelry, to stretch the gold further and reduce the price without affecting the visual impact of the ornaments.
The amount of gold that is found in an alloy of gold with another metal is called the carat of the alloy. If you go to any jewelry store, you will find a rating for the carat against each ornament. If it is pure gold, then the rating is 24 carat. On the other hand, 18 carat means that the ornament is 75% gold and 25% of another, less-valuable metal.
It is very difficult to make 24 carat gold ornaments because gold is a malleable but weak material. Because of its low tensile strength, small pieces can chip off from an ornament made out of pure gold. Only gold biscuits or coins made of almost pure gold are available for buyers. Other than these, you will have to choose from the alloyed gold jewelry.
Don’t be discouraged if you simply cannot afford to purchase expensive golden jewels. You can find room in your budget for ones of equally fine appearance, perhaps ones that look even nicer than 22 carat jewelry. Consider purchasing semi-precious accessories that combine gemstones like garnets, emeralds, amethysts, or turquoise with 14 carat gold.
You may also go for silver jewelry that has been plated with gold. This looks similar to jewelry made from gold. If the quality of gold plating or polish is good, it becomes extremely difficult to tell the difference with the naked eye.
Despite centuries of competition from cheaper ornaments, gold jewelery remains the most coveted fashion accessory. Since pure gold is easily chipped, solid gold is usually mixed with other materials to obtain a tough alloy during jewelry making. The purity of gold in an alloy is measured in carats (K). The benchmark solid gold is 24k, so a 12k piece of jewelry would indicate an ornament containing only 50 percent gold. Slightly better than that, the affordable 14k jewelry is often mixed with sapphire, ruby and emerald stones to be sold as semi precious jewelry. Also popular is gold plated silver jewelry which appears to be made of solid gold.
- leslie saleson