Don’t Settle for the Wrong Metal for Your Wedding Rings
You shouldn’t make any assumptions
about what your wedding jewellery should be. You may wear a lot of silver and
assume you’ll want white gold, as will your fiancé. On the other hand, you
could be someone who inherited a lot of your mother’s jewellery and she was a
fan of yellow gold and feel you must keep the tradition going. But, bear in
mind that your wedding jewellery is meant to be worn daily and it should be in
a style you really love, and critically, a metal you love, too.
Your wedding jewellery will “start”
with a diamond engagement
rings.
If you are choosing for your beloved, you know that this is a very important
decision. You’ll have many shops to choose from, many types of stones, many
types of metals – and you’ll set the precedence for the entire wedding set –
and your own wedding band, too. There are certainly couples who choose
different types of metals – it’s not like the bands/rings will be worn next to
each other – rather, they will be worn by both the bride and groom. Then again,
there are definitely couples who want to keep a cohesive theme and love the
idea of complementary, if not matching wedding bands.
The internet
is one of the excellent places to start looking for all your wedding jewellery
needs. Visit https://www.diamonds.co.nz/ to view
their collection of diamond rings. The great benefit to shopping online is that
you can always shop 24/7. You can peruse in private, if you want to keep her
engagement ring a surprise, or opt to shop together, browsing through styles
each of you favours. Choosing or at least browsing together allows you to get
an idea of style tastes and it’s a great time to discuss your budget in a close
and intimate setting, where you can be as candid as you need to be.
Jewellery Metals
Forged as
early as before 6000 BC, metals were instrumental in making jewellery. As the
years progressed, other metals were used in jewellery including gold (6000 BC),
copper (4200 BC) and then silver (4000 BC).
Other than
steel jewellery, metals used are non-ferrous (without any iron), noble (as
opposed to base metals, which fade and corrode) and precious (higher-value, less
reactive, have a higher lustre, easy to work with).
Gold
As both
a method of payment and a jewellery staple, pure
gold is very soft and must be – and is commonly – mixed with copper and zinc. Here are the types of gold most often available:
·
24 Karat: 99.9% Pure
·
22 Karat: 91.7% Pure
·
18 Karat: 75% Pure
·
14 Karat: 58.3% Pure
·
12 Karat: 50% Pure
·
10 Karat: 41.7% Pure
Because of the aforementioned softness of gold,
rings and bracelets shouldn’t be more than 18k or even 14k. They’re available,
but you should probably avoid gold vermeil, gold-filled and gold-plated, but
definitely consider and look into white-gold and rose gold.
Silver
In the same way you’d avoid gold vermeil,
gold-filled and gold-plated, avoid nickel silver and silver plated, and look
towards sterling silver and fine silver.
Platinum
Considered more precious than gold, platinum is a
heavy metal that is more valuable than gold. To be labeled platinum, it has to
have a purity of at least 95% pure platinum.
Platinum jewellery will be stamped PLAT, and platinum alloy will be
stamped IRIDPLAT.
Stainless Steel Jewellery
With Steampunk and industrial being a trend,
stainless steel, invented in 1913, is a departure from tradition.
IN CONCLUSION
Ultimately, you will find the metal, stone (if you
want) and style that will represent you as a couple. Be sure you take your time
and don’t rush your precious choice.
