It can be confusing in the world of jewellery to know what metal is best for you and what it's made of, so we thought we'd break down the three metal types that we do.
9ct Solid Gold
Gold has different purity depending on the carat, so 24ct gold is pure gold which is a very soft metal and not durable for jewellery. Our 9ct Solid Gold is 37.5% gold, then 62.5% of a different metal such as copper or silver to strengthen it or give it colour - ours is all nickel, lead and cadmium free. Our 9ct Gold will have a tiny 375 stamp on it.
18ct Gold Vermeil
What makes vermeil special? Firstly, you have to plate over a base metal of Sterling Silver (no costume or vague base metals), plus to be approved vermeil instead of regular gold plate, it needs to be plated to a minimum of 2.5 microns thick, we plate our pieces to 3 microns for an extra luxurious finish.
Gold Vermeil jewellery will look like gold but have the 925 stamp on it, because the base is Sterling Silver. We don't use any nickel, cadmium or lead - these alloys can irritate the skin and cause reactions.
Sterling Silver
Sterling Silver is made from 92.5% pure silver. Why do we use Sterling Silver instead of pure silver (99.9%)? Pure silver is too soft for most jewellery, which is why the alloy is added to strengthen it. There will be a tiny 925 stamped on our silver jewellery.
