I like it shiny...just hold the green, please!

Like it shiny? or like it matte? or just don't want your fingers to turn green again? yikes, that's no good! Silver, Gold, Brass, Copper, and more - they are blended, plated, and polished in jewelry, so how can you know what you're buying? or what you should buy? or are you a designer picking which metals to work in?

Here is a quick lesson in metal 'terminology' for jewelry shopping...

STERLING SILVER:
Wondering what .925 means? Sterling Silver is a term for 92.5% fine silver. Pure silver is considered too malleable for making jewelry so we add other metals such as copper to strengthen the alloy (metal mixture). Sterling Silver is considered a quality metal that won't cause basic allergy reactions or heavily deteriorate with time (although it will tarnish if not properly cared for).

SILVER-PLATED vs. SILVER-TONED (costume jewelry):
These are pretty self-descriptive. Silver plated references a base metal (i.e. brass, bronze, copper, tin alloys) with a thin layer of silver on the outside. With regular wear, the plating will deteriorate, and you may not be protected against allergies. The silver plating may also tarnish with time. Heavy polishing will ruin the plating though so it is important to care for it properly.

Silver-toned refers to any metal alloy that has been mixed to create a silver-toned color on the outside. This type of jewelry is typically prone to potential allergies, and cleaning is dependent on the type of base metal.

RHODIUM-PLATED SILVER:
Rhodium is part of the platinum family which makes it resistant to tarnish. Since many people don't like to polish their sterling silver, some manufacturers will plate sterling with rhodium. Pros: silver won't tarnish and you can replate in the future
Cons: rhodium is a slightly different color than silver and will eventually wear off letting the silver tarnish

For more detailed information on sterling silver at WendyCulpepper.com, go to Silver Information here
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GOLD-PLATED vs. GOLD-TONED (costume jewelry):
This is the same premise as the silver plated and silver-toned. Gold-plated is a thin layer of gold (any karat), and gold-toned is a metal alloy mixed to have a gold coloring. Both of these are typically an allergy issue due to the base metals in them.

GOLD-FILLED (costume jewelry):
Gold-filled is always confusing because while it is regulated to have 5% gold in it, it is actually an alloy (mostly brass and silver) where the gold is concentrated as a plating. It gives it a gold color, and the brass and metals in it, allow gold-filled to be polished. Gold-fill can not be cast, thus you typically you only find gold-filled as connecters, clasps, or jewelry made of thick wire.

GOLD VERMEIL (pronouned ver-may):
Vermeil is defined as gold plated over sterling silver. It was developed as an alternative to costume jewelry and the sky-rocketing prices of gold. It has allowed the fashion industry to embrace quality materials at affordable prices since things like Gold-fill can not be cast into larger metal jewelry pieces.
Pros: Vermeil should not carry any allergic reactions with it based on its lack of base metals, you have a quality sterling piece under your gold, and you purchase vermeil at a price point fairly similar to silver in a market where gold is constantly soaring to more than 50 times the price of silver.
Cons: As with any plating, the gold will eventually wear off leaving spots where the silver can tarnish under the surface layer, vermeil is not well-regulated in the US for proper gold thickness, and it can not be well-polished without harming the plate.

KARAT GOLD:

The Karat definition of gold is a ratio of its purity. Like fine silver, pure gold is also too soft and and malleable for jewelry. Thus, we mix the gold with other metals such as silver and copper to strengthen it. Pure gold is based on a 24 part system. Your karat is the quantity of gold per 24 total parts. For example, 18K gold is 18 of 24 parts gold (or 75% pure gold).

For more detailed information on gold terminology at WendyCulpepper.com, go to Gold Information here