Jewelry what material? Gold, silver, diamonds and precious stones

The value of jewellery is linked to its material.

When you buy jewelry, what makes the value of this jewelry? Of course the material in which it is made matters a lot. Whether it is precious metals or more ordinary metals, whether it contains diamonds or precious stones, swarovski® crystals or amber, mother-of-pearl or Pate Fimo®.

Yellow gold and diamond ring representing 2 flowers from Van Cliff and Arpels®.

Precious metal jewellery: gold, silver, rhodium, platinum…

Very often a jewel consists of a metallic part and possibly a part in another material: precious stone, Swarovski, amber, mother-of-pearl … This metal is used to make the link or the tie like the turn of a ring, the chain of a necklace etc… It is not an obligation, one finds in particular in costume jewellery jewellery whose link is made by a cotton cord, or a strand of leather, braided threads as is the case for Brazilian bracelets etc…

Gold jewellery: a special case.

Gold is a metal that has always been used for jewellery. Indeed, it has unique qualities that no other precious metal has: it is rare and therefore expensive, but it also offers other predispositions that make it a privileged metal: it is the colour of the sun. This is how in ancient civilizations it was always found to represent the sun. Another very appreciable characteristic offered by the manufacture of gold jewellery : unlike most other metals, gold alters very little and keeps its lustre for a long time with little maintenance. A gold jewel is a sure value, gold will always bring great value to the jewel.

Silver jewellery: affordable and precious

When you think of jewelry and you don’t think of gold jewelry, you immediately think of silver jewelry. . Silver is also a precious metal that is very easy to work with and, once polished, has a very flattering shine. Its colour between white and grey is neutral and goes particularly well with strong coloured gemstones. Silver jewellery, on the other hand, oxidizes easily, which is why other stainless precious metals are sometimes used to cover it. With rare exceptions a silver jewel will always be worth more than an identical jewel made of a common metal, even if its value is far from that of gold it is also a sure value to be preferred if possible.

Zoé from fashion blog madlybyzoxy.com wears silver earrings and necklace from Kelim Design – pingtipong shop

Diamond jewelry, diamond, the most beautiful stone

Much more expensive than gold, diamond is the undisputed star among precious stones, it is the brightest, the strongest, the purest. Made of pure or almost pure carbon, diamond is the favorite jewelry stone of all women. Timeless, if its setting can go out of fashion, the diamond will never change. Its size depends on its initial shape and on shapes that have been defined for centuries by diamond dealers in order to offer as many reflections as possible. As with gold and silver, diamonds keep their value through the ages and bring a great value to the jewel that wears it, attention however there are very different qualities and sizes of diamonds that can make the value change strongly.

Messika® gold ring with three mobile diamonds

The different gemstones

As their name suggests, gemstones come from minerals and from working the earth on the various essential components it contains. Most of the time, it will take high temperatures and pressures over millions of years to cause the atoms to group together to form crystals of varying sizes and purity. While some gemstones are known by their main color, some gems may have other colors forming gemstone jewelry original. More or less rare and more or less beautiful, their length varies according to the discovery of large deposits or on the contrary their depletion. Estimating the value of a jewel with a gemstone is a matter for the connoisseur.

Necklace necklace of Van Cleef and Arpels in gold, malachite, carnelian, eye of the tiger

Also to be read

• – How to choose a brand of jewelry
• – Semi-precious materials: Swarovski jewelry, amber jewelry, Fimo paste, mother-of-pearl jewelry and ceramics