Metal Reference Guide

At House of Frost Jewellery, we love precious metals for their durability, workability, lustre and value. There are many different metal types and different purities available on the market but to make the choice easier for you, we only offer a few in our online store. 14ct Gold in three different colours and Sterling Silver. All metals have different properties and precious metals are no exception. A little knowledge of their properties will help you select the right metal for you and your lifestyle. This reference guide outlines some basic information on the metal options and their properties.

If you have more questions then please do not hesitate to get touch, we'd love to help.

Gold

Pure gold is given the carat grade of 24ct - you may also see 24K. It is bright yellow, easily malleable and quite soft. Mainly due to its softness pure gold is often alloyed with other metals to give the metal more wearability. Common and popular alloys of gold for jewellery are 9ct, 10ct, 14ct and 18ct. Less common gold alloys are: 15ct and 22ct. Essentially the higher the carat number the higher the gold content so 18ct gold for example has twice as much pure gold content as 9ct gold. You will also notice that the higher carat golds have richer colour, so 18ct yellow gold will look a richer yellow compared with its 9ct yellow gold counterpart.

At House of Frost Jewellery, you will notice that we offer you a choice of either 14ct Yellow Gold, White Gold or Rose Gold. Now obviously pure gold is always yellow, so how then do we get other colour golds? Simple, by the alloying process. The gold content portion remains the same (for example 14ct) however using different metals in the alloy mix results in different colours in the final gold product. The most popular gold colours in jewellery are yellow, white and rose.

All jewellery from House of Frost will be hallmarked for your piece of mind. A hallmark is a stamp which is placed on the jewellery item. It is small and its placement is discrete. The hallmark indicates the metal purity. For items that are 14ct you will see one of the following stamps: 14ct, 14k or 585. For items that are sterling silver you will see: 925.

14ct Yellow Gold:

Is highly popular in jewellery and is a classic choice. The rich vibrant tones of yellow gold suit most skin tones and this ensures it is always a favourite metal choice for jewellery. Our 14ct Yellow gold alloy contains approximately: 58% Gold, 31% Copper, 10% Silver and 1% Zinc. If you like mixing your metals then yellow gold looks particularly good when mixed with white metals.

14ct White Gold:

For a more contemporary feel white gold is your metal. White gold works well paired with both rose and yellow gold if you like to mix your metals and so is versatile choice. Our white gold alloy contains approximately: 58% Gold, 24% Copper, 9% Zinc and 9% Nickel.

14ct Rose Gold:

Rose gold has been enjoying a resurgence currently, as its rosy hue is proving romantic choice. Rose gold has a high copper content that gives the alloy its beautiful shade. Our 14ct Rose gold alloy contains approximately: 58% gold, 40% Copper, 1% Silver and 1% Zinc. Rose Gold looks beautiful paired with white metals for those who like metal mixing options.

Silver

Silver is  the brightest of all the white metals and significantly cheaper than gold. For this reason it is a very popular choice for jewellery especially in larger pieces. Pure silver is hallmarked as 999, this means essentially that it is not an alloy. Sterling silver is hallmarked 925 and is more commonly used in jewellery. It has been alloyed, (not much however), usually with some copper and zinc, which gives the metal a bit more workability. 

Silver is a beautiful metal, however owning silver jewellery does require a little more effort on your behalf as it is more subject to oxidisation than gold. Put simply, it will tarnish (go black). It's not an indication of something wrong with the metal it is simply a property of the metal. Certain environmental factors can cause the oxidisation process to happen more readily, such as contact with ammonia, chlorine and bleach. Other factors however such as air and water, cause oxidisation too, but at a slower rate. In some cases certain people's skin can be a little more acidic than others and this can also cause the metal to tarnish faster. 

Don't be alarmed if your silver jewellery does tarnish, it is normal and easily removed. At home with a silver cloth and some elbow grease or by a professional jeweller who will use a high speed polishing buff to remove the oxidisation from your jewellery. It will bring the piece up as good as new and you will love the result. 

Sterling Silver:

The other metal offered by House of Frost Jewellery is Sterling Silver. Silver is a beautiful metal favoured for centuries. Its bright white gleam has always been a popular choice for jewellery. House of Frost jewellery offers sterling silver jewellery which contains approximately: 93% Silver, 4% Copper and 3% Zinc.