Pendants are adornments for necklaces. The most popular styles are lockets and crucifixes. If you are looking to buy gold or silver pendants for a necklace you already own or buying a necklace with a pendant included you should find all of the relevant information included here. Pendants are often made from various precious metals and decorated with precious minerals or an engraved pattern.

Silver Pendants

Sterling silver is the standard grade used for jewellery. It is a legal requirement for silver to carry a hallmark in order to be sold in the United Kingdom. This will normally include a number. Sterling Silver should be marked ‘925′.

Gold Pendants

As with most gold jewellery, pendants can be made from yellow and white gold. As gold is not naturally white it is worth being mindful that, over time white gold may need to be restored. A 9 carat, solid gold pendant could contain around 35% pure gold whereas and 18 carat solid gold pendant would contain 75% pure gold. This drastically changes the price. Any solid gold jewellery should be engraved with a hallmark. 9ct gold should have the number ‘375′ engraved and 18ct gold will have ‘750′.

Gemstones and Decoration

A large number of pendants include gemstones or other decorative materials with varying values. One commonly used material is mother of pearl. This is harvested from the inner layer of the shells of particular mollusks. They create this layer to form part of their shell for protection and the outer layers of pearls are made using this material which gives them their iridescent finish. Jewellery can be produced with mother of pearl decoration at a relatively low cost and can be found on pendants of various purity metals. Other precious stones may be used to decorate pendants but diamonds are a very popular addition to gold pendants. These are generally set into yellow of white gold of 18ct purity or higher.

Costs

As a rule of thumb silver pendants should be available for less than £50 unless they are particularly heavy, higher grade than sterling or are set with stones that require a higher price. Plain or engraved 9ct yellow gold pendants should cost £50 – £100. Additional stones such as Sapphire, Peridot or Amethyst may require a price tag upwards of £200. Rubies and Diamonds will cost significantly more; depending on the quality and size of the stones they will require a price tag upwards of £500. As they are normally set in high quality 18ct yellow or white gold it is not unusual for these items to cost over £1000.

For a selection of pendants, John Hollins Fine Jewellery is a great place to go

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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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If you are looking for a gold or silver necklace to wear either on its own or with a pendant and would like to know a little more, this guide should provide you with the information you need to make an informed decision. Necklaces are normally a series of one or more types of link interlocked to make a chain. The carat index is used to measure the purity of gold. This is often expressed by a hallmark consisting of 3 digits engraved into the piece. These commonly range from 375 (9ct – the most dilute) to 999 (24ct – the purest). Silver has a similar index which should also be engraved into the piece. These range from 750 (lowest) to 999.9 (highest). Sterling silver (which is commonly used in jewellery) should have ‘925′ engraved somewhere on it.

Link Types

Silver and gold necklaces are made from a variety of different types of link. Belcher links are normally torus (ring) shaped and interlock at 90 degrees to the next link. Curb Links are the classic shaped link used for chains outside of jewellery. They can either be made flat or undulated. In either case each link joins to the next at the same angle so when laid flat all links can be orientated the same way. Cuban links are a similar shape to curb links but their width makes each link almost circular. Bead links are spheres with a hole bored through to allow a strand to run between them. A spacer may be used to keep the beads at a uniform distance. Rope links give the impression of a single woven strand by interlocking the links into a spiral shape.

Pendants

You may wish to attach a pendant to the gold or silver necklace you are purchasing. The only thing to keep in mind is the type of links used for the chain. If the necklace is going to be worn with a sizable pendant the shape of the links in the necklace are worth considering. You will want to choose a rounded link which allows the pendant to move freely without snagging. One such link is the belcher link. In the event you choose a necklace is not suitable for your chosen pendant, a responsible jeweller should inform you of the reason and suggest a different necklace.

Costs

The price of silver or gold necklaces are generally governed by the purity of the precious metal used to make it and the weight but in some cases designer branding can further increase the price and handmade jewellery generally costs more than jewellery that has been built by machine. As an example, 9ct solid gold necklaces are generally less than £100 where the handmade equivalent could cost upwards of £500. Remember this does not refer to gold plated jewellery (which costs significantly less).

For a selection of silver & gold necklaces, John Hollins Fine Jewellery is a great place to go

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