precious metals Archives | Goldfish Jewellery Design Studio

Posted on 15/05/201811/04/2019 by Goldfish Jewellery

White Gold

This post aims to clear up any confusion you may have concerning White Gold and Platinum.

All gold is “alloyed” (as is iron in order to make steel), which means that the metal is mixed with other metals in order to change its properties. Examples of alloys are steel, solder, brass, pewter, duralumin, bronze and amalgams.

Pure gold in its purest form is unsuitable to be worked as it does not have the strength and rigidness of an alloyed metal. In order for you to be protected and confident in exactly what you are purchasing, several standards of gold are available.

All measures of gold are expressed in “carats”.
The most common and cost-effective form is 9ct – this is a measure of 9 carat out of 24 – which is expressed in a percentage as 37,5 % Gold – the balance is copper and silver. The most desirable form of gold is 18ct. This is a 75% gold alloy, tends to work better, and have a richer yellow colour. It is also 40% heavier per volume.

Image Source: Precious Metals Comparison - coreyegan.com — Image Source: Precious Metals Comparison – coreyegan.com

Now to get down to the nitty gritty.

White gold is an alloy of gold which will have the same percentage of pure gold as is expressed in the carat system – the only difference is that an average of 10% palladium has been added. This precious metal belongings to the same family as platinum and “bleaches” the yellow colour out of the alloyed metal, which gives it a white colour.

In the past platinum itself was used to alloy the gold down and give it its white colour, however, this mixture tends to be rather expensive thus its sister metal, palladium, is used.

So now we have a metal that is white in colour, but is still gold in a measured form of: 9ct, 14ct or 18ct. This is still not platinum. Platinum is most commonly used in a 95% pure form which is about twice the weight of 9ct gold per volume.

A precious metal is a metal that does not react to other elements in our environment and is therefore known as being stable. However, the metals which have been alloyed with the gold tend to be reactive, meaning they are going to break down and react with other elements. Therefore, the finer the metal – the less reaction it would have with other elements in our surroundings and is also less likely to have an allergic reaction on sensitive skin.

This is the true value of platinum and what makes a purer gold so much more desirable than a lesser alloy.

— Zak

Goldfish Jewellery Design Studio works with all precious metals, stones and diamonds. For further information, please contact us.

Posted on 04/04/201811/04/2019 by Goldfish Jewellery

Silver

The word silver is from the Anglo Saxon name, “seolfor”, and from the Latin name Argentum, we obtain the periodic table symbol for silver, Ag.

This precious metal was only discovered 2000 years after gold in 4000bc. Ancient Egyptians and Mesopotamians used Silver before they knew what exactly it was; but what they were actually using was a metal alloy called Electrum, which is an alloy of Silver and Gold. They didn’t even have a name in their vocabulary for what they were using, and referred to it as “white metal”. Once the discovery has been made, it was deemed even more precious than Gold!

Silver does not react with air, even at red heat, and was thus considered by alchemists as a noble metal along with Gold. Comprehensive overview on Silver.

I am sure that the medicinal properties of silver, which have recently become very popular with colloidal silver and silver nanotechnology, and the history of their discovery would interest all our avid readers.

The ancient Greeks and Romans divided time into ages of man, with the first being the Golden Age. The second Age was Silver and was associated with Apollo, the god of truth & light and teacher of medicine; why do you think he carried a silver bow? I also find it quite interesting that his twin sister, Artemis, who lost her hand, was given a silver replacement. Although there is no way that we can substantiate any “scientific “knowledge that these ancients discovered, maybe they did know a lot more than we give them gratitude for?

During the 1800s, several physicians discovered the antibacterial properties of silver and started to use silver nitrate to treat skin ulcers, compound fractures and draining pussy wounds. Silver as an ion is very clean and no bacteria or fungus is able to grow on it, and a small amount is released when the metal comes into contact with liquids. In medicine, silver is incorporated into wound dressings and used as an antibiotic coating in medical devices. Prior to the use of antibiotics we were using silver foil as a dressing!

Recently scientists have developed the method of coating plastics and other material with a thin layer of silver, and dissolving fine silver into water in the form of ions which has become a very popular form of medication… now we all know what the hype is about and that there is a lot of truth in the healing properties of silver.

— Zak

PS: To make our little creations environmentally friendly we only use reclaimed silver which is skillfully handcrafted by our team of craftsmen into that special piece for you to treasure! Goldfish Jewellery Design Studio works with all precious metals, stones and diamonds. For further information, please contact us.

Posted on 28/11/2017 by Goldfish Jewellery

Gold

The cause of wars, famine and murder, the source of many conflicts stemming from greed; yet Gold has always been desired and cherished by humans.

This highly malleable metal has been the foundation of many ancient and modern cultures, from the ancient Aztecs and the ruins at Greater Zimbabwe through to North America, Johannesburg and the Spanish.

Traded for, and with, and being able to be formed into any conceivable shape and form, as well as it’s lovely colour and lustre, has made Gold the ideal form of currency and has thus been used throughout the ages. Still today it forms the basis of all economies and determines the strength of all currencies.

Not only is Gold viewed as a symbol of wealth and a showcase of power, it also has many other uses.

Healing Power of Gold

Being an excellent conductor of electricity and amplifier of gems, Gold can enhance the powers of all gem stones. It helps with digestion, circulation and regeneration of the nerves which makes it invaluable to people suffering from arthritis and heart disease.

The way in which to use Gold is to have gems with the healing powers most suitable to your condition, then to wear the ring on the finger that relates to the required chakra. For example, someone with constipation would use a pearl (for digestion), and wear it on their ring finger to correspond with the chakra relating to the stomach. Set in Gold, this would activate the digestive system.

Proportions and Colours

Palladium engagement ring, Red Gold band with matching Men`s band. Made by Goldfish Jewellery Design Studio.

Gold is too soft to be used as a pure metal and is thus mixed with other non-ferrous metals to create different carats of Gold, like 18ct or 9ct. These proportions are out of a total amount of 24. The carat (ct) is a seed that was used to weigh metals and stone since ancient times due to the fact that they are all the same size and weight.

Different colour Gold’s are created by alloying the fine gold with different metals to tint the raw materia. The most common is to use a metal called Palladium to form White Gold, or Copper to obtain Red Gold. The balance of the weight would be either silver or copper.

A Gift to celebrate the passing years

“In medieval Germany, where the tradition of giving anniversary gifts seems to have started, if a couple made it to 25 years of marriage, the wife was given a silver garland to mark the occasion. In the unlikely event they made it to 50 years (most people didn’t even live to 50 back then, much less stay married that long), she’d get a Gold garland.” – source

— Zak

Goldfish Jewellery Design Studio works with all precious metals, stones and diamonds. For further information, please contact us.