Everard & Wang Metals Guide

Everard & Wang use a number of jewellery metals, both precious such and gold and Sterling silver and non-precious such as copper and brass.

Gold

Gold can come in a number of finesses ranging from 9 karat, 37.5% gold, as found in the UK to 22 karat, 91.6% gold, common in the Middle East, India and East Asia.  24 karat is pure gold but is generally too soft for jewellery purposes.  Additionally, gold can be alloyed with other metals such as silver or platinum to produce White Gold, or copper to produce Rose Gold with the exact colour depending on the percentage of the two metals used.

Vermeil

Vermeil, or silver-gilt, is gold plated directly on to silver, and is defined in by law the USA.  To be considered Vermeil the gold needs to be at least 10 K finess plated to a thickness of at least 2.5 micrometers directly on to sterling silver without an intervening base metal.  In the past this Vermeil was fire plated but is electroplated now.  Vermeil is long lasting and cheaper to produce than solid gold but may need to be re-plated in time.

Silver

Silver is an easy to work ductile and malleable metal. Sterling silver is alloyed to make it harder and will be marked with 925, that is 925 parts per 1000 are silver. Silver will tarnish with exposure to air and particularly in humid or polluted environments. Remove light tarnish with a silver polishing cloth, if heavily tarnished the item will need professional cleaning.

Copper and Brass

Copper and its alloy Brass are used in jewellery both in their own right and as bases for larger items. Copper is a pinkish-red malleable and ductile metal whereas brass is harder than both copper and silver and can be yellow or white in colour.  Additionally, copper and brass maybe used in findings, beads, pins and spacers for reasons of strength or cost.

Other Metals

Although Everard & Wang do not use them there are a number of other metals used in jewellery making, ranging from the base metals; steel, nickel, lead and aluminium; precious metals such as platinum; exotic metals such as titanium, and rhodium which is generally used as plating to protect silver, platium or white gold items.