Three Things You Should Know About Gold Wedding Bands

When it comes to buying a gold wedding band, things can get confusing fast.  What color gold do you want?  What karat will suit your lifestyle?

Gold is the most popular choice for wedding bands, and very popular in dress rings, bracelets, necklaces, and watches.  Gold is easy to accessorize with, and it is durable.  There are three things to consider when looking at gold wedding rings.

First, you should look at the karat number.  A karat measures the proportion of pure gold mixed with other metal alloy to make up the final metal. There are several karats available for gold, but most men’s wedding bands employ 9-karat, 14-karat and 18-karat.  Since an 18-karat ring has a higher proportion of gold than a 14-karat, the 18- karat will be more expensive.  Although there are higher karats than an 18-karat ring, it is generally agreed that 22-karat and 24-karat gold is too soft to make men’s wedding rings.

Karat stamps do not indicate the durability and hardness of gold, however.  When choosing your wedding band, it is important to consider your own lifestyle.  How often will you wear the ring?  Do you work with your hands?  Could your ring be easily scratched or bent?

Metal hardness is measured by what is called the Vickers scale.  The higher the Vickers score, the harder the metal.  A 9-karat ring has a Vickers score of 120 and an 18-karat has a score of 125.  The difference is so slight that 9-karat and 18-karat rings are much the same in terms of hardness.

Next, you should consider the color of the gold.  Gold comes in several colors:  yellow, white, rose, bronze, and lime.  Wedding bands can also be made using two or three different tones of gold, creating a unique color.

Adding an alloy to the gold creates different colors.  For example, rose gold is made using a mix of pure gold with alloys including copper.  The copper provides the reddish color.  Yellow gold forms from a mixture of pure gold and alloy metals such as copper and zinc, while white gold is an alloy of gold and some white metals (silver and palladium.)

Natural white gold has a gray tinge to it, which is covered up by adding a plating of rhodium.  The rhodium also serves to make the jewelry harder, but it does wear off after about 12 to 18 months.  You can get your jewelry re-rhodium plated at your local jeweler.

There are many options when it comes to choosing a wedding band, but ultimately you should be certain that the ring you choose is right for you and your lifestyle.  After all, the ring is a symbol of your love and marriage, so it should suit you perfectly.

Amanda Trevino is a client account specialist with 10x Marketing-More Visitors. More Buyers. More Revenue. To find more information about wedding bands, please visit International Jewelers.

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One thing you can say about gold earrings is that they are timeless pieces that are always in style. They are not only beautiful, but also wear-friendly since, unlike sterling silver, they don’t tarnish. Another great attribute is that people with allergies to certain metals, or find they have a problem with staining from metals that have been combined with gold, don’t have a problem with gold itself.

Gold is a versatile metal, able to be worked in virtually any shape, whether it be small, but sturdy, strands to thin sheets. In fact, just one ounce has the ability to be hammered into an extremely thin sheet measuring at ten feet square. Artisans, especially makers of gold earrings, can manipulate gold into any desired shape.

When choosing gold earrings you need to look at the gold’s karat factor. Different karat numbers are what describe just how much pure gold is in the earrings. The percentage of gold in the earrings is higher when the karat number is higher.

For example, 24K earrings are pure gold, 18K is 75% gold with 18 parts of gold and 6 parts of another metal, 14K, the most common, is 58.3% gold with 14 parts of gold and 10 parts of another metal, 12K is 50% gold with 12 parts of gold and 12 parts of another metal, and, lastly, 10K, the minimum karat that can be described as gold, is a mere 41.7% gold with 10 parts gold and 14 parts of another metal.

Gold earrings made in Europe will have different markings. For example, 18K will be marked as 750, 14K will be marked as 585, and 12 K will be marked as 417. These marking stand for the percentage of gold the earrings contain.

Most gold earrings aren’t made of pure gold since it can be quite soft and not very practical for daily wear. In mot cases, other metals will have been mixed with the gold in order to heighten the durability, as well as lower the price.

When metallurgists add other metals to gold it allows them to change the gold’s color. To create white gold Palladium, also known as nickel, is added. The addition of copper products creates a rose/pink color, while adding silver can give gold a greenish tint.

When choosing the type of gold earrings that is right for you, you must decide how often you will wear them and what type of karat number will fit this need. If you are allergic to such metals as nickel, you should choose gold earrings that have a higher gold content. This means that gold earrings marked with 18K or 22K are best for you.

If you plan to wear your earrings only on occasion, and don’t necessarily have to have the best gold there is, then you have the option of choosing gold earrings that are gold filled or even gold plated. This would not be a good choice if you do plan to wear the gold earrings on a daily basis since a lot of use will reduce the gold layer, therefore exposing the metal that is underneath and possibly causing staining or even an allergic reaction.

If you plan to purchase gold earrings that you want to last a very long time, then make sure you buy a high quality item.

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