| When you're buying a special piece of jewellery - | | | | jewellery you've bought is high quality, ensure that |
| whether it's an engagement ring or a birthday | | | | it's been stamped with a purity mark (like 925) |
| necklace - it's likely you'll hear the term 'precious | | | | before you buy. |
| metal' thrown around a lot. But what exactly is a | | | | Gold, on the other hand, has long-held associations |
| precious metal - and what makes it so 'precious'? | | | | with investment and wealth as a precious metal. |
| When it comes to jewellery, the three most | | | | As with silver, gold is a soft metal and so also has |
| precious metals are silver, gold and platinum - in | | | | to be alloyed with other metals to make it hard |
| that particular order. And if you're buying | | | | enough for jewellery making. Pure gold, for |
| jewellery made out of these metals, it's important | | | | example is yellow, while white gold is gold that has |
| to know what each of them denotes, and how | | | | been alloyed with nickel, copper and zinc, and can |
| expensive they are, before making your | | | | sometimes look similar to platinum. In this way, |
| purchase. | | | | the colour of gold can be manipulated in order to |
| Silver, for example, is one of the cheapest | | | | create a number of different types. |
| precious metals, and currently sits at about one | | | | Of these three popular precious metals, however, |
| fiftieth the price of gold by mass, although it did | | | | platinum is the most expensive. Its heavy-weight |
| once trade at one sixth the price of gold before | | | | and durable nature means that it's great for |
| the Age of Discovery. As a soft metal, silver | | | | diamond-encrusted jewellery and is similar in |
| needs to be alloyed with other metals before | | | | colour, though not in properties, to white gold. |
| being made into jewellery, in order to make the | | | | Generally speaking, platinum jewellery is 90% pure |
| metal stronger and more resistant. 'Sterling Silver' | | | | platinum and 10% iridium or palladium alloy. |
| needs to contain at least 92.5% pure silver in | | | | Moreover, jewellery that contains more than 95 |
| order to gain this mark (the remaining 7.5% is | | | | per cent pure platinum is marked 'platinum' (950 |
| usually comprised of copper). This small copper | | | | plat or 950pt), whereas 85 percent pure platinum |
| content means that silver jewellery is likely to | | | | will be marked 850plat or 850pt. Platinum |
| tarnish, so if you're thinking about buying a sterling | | | | jewellery is rapidly gaining popularity and other |
| silver ring or bracelet, it's important to make sure | | | | related metals - like palladium and titanium - are, |
| you clean in properly. Many people like to use | | | | as a result being used with increasing frequency in |
| toothpaste to clean silver jewellery, but if you're | | | | jewellery-making. Hence, platinum jewellery |
| looking for a less abrasive cleaning formula, it's | | | | designs are often modern and chunky, with an |
| best to invest in a silver-cleaning fluid at the time | | | | ethos that reflects the lifestyle of its new buyers. |
| of purchase. Further, to make sure the silver | | | | |