GOLD
At Shamin's we are proud to offer all of our custom creations in your choice of Yellow, White or Rose Gold in 10K, 14K, 18K and in some cases even 22 and 24K.
GOLD
At Shamin's we often get asked why we don't set diamonds in 22Kt gold. Pure gold (fine gold) is softer than pure silver but harder than tin. Its beauty and luster are unmatched by any alloyed golds. The extreme malleability, ductility, and softness of pure gold make it practically useless for jewelry applications like ours, especially if it includes precious diamonds. Alloying elements (other metals) are added to gold to increase the toughness and hardness of the gold alloy. While almost any metal can be alloyed (melted) with gold, only certain metals will not dramatically change the color or make the metal brittle. The addition of indium, for instance, turns gold purple and gives gold alloy the workability of glass.
Over time, certain percentages of gold have become legally recognized "karats." The karat indicates the amount of gold as a percentage of the total, i.e. 24 karat is 100 percent gold. Therefore 22 karat is 22/24 or 91.7% pure gold and 18 karat is 18/24 or 75% pure gold and 14 karat is 14/24 gold or 58.33 percent gold. Gold standards vary around the world. In Canada, 24, 22, 18, 14, and 10 karat gold are allowed to be sold as karated gold.
In karated gold, there is a known proportion of metals in the non-gold percentage. These metals provide the various colors and hardness of karated golds. Typical alloying elements and their color effect are
- Copper Reddening
- Silver Greening
- Zinc Bleaching
- Nickel Whitening
- Palladium Whitening
Examples of the compositions of different colors are
- Yellow: Gold, copper, silver, zinc
- White: Gold, copper, nickel (or palladium), zinc
- Red: Gold, copper
- Green: Gold, silver
Adjusting the proportions of base metals (non-precious metals) provides the array of colors on the market. They also enhance properties such as castability, grain size, hardness, corrosion resistance, workability, ultimate strength, and ductility. These additions can dramatically change the properties of the karated gold for better or worse.
Knowing how the additions will affect the karated gold greatly enhances the possibility of a superior final product. In deep drawing of metals, it is important to have a metal which will elongate or stretch a great deal before fracturing, thus high ductility. The requirement for an earring post would be a high tensile strength (a great deal of force needed to get the material to permanently deform or bend). It is imperative to select the proper karated composition for the desired application.
WHITE GOLD
Our White Gold is offered also in 14K X1 White, 18K X1 White and 19K White. Features include
- Exceptional white color and finishes
- Excellent surface appearance
- Clean and bright finish
X1 FOREVER WHITE
SEE THE DIFFERENCE.
With our X1 white gold, you get premium white color that provides the look of platinum at the cost of gold. You no longer need to rhodium plate in order to achieve a bright white surface finish. X1 white gold has been enhanced with trace elements that provide grain structure control, ductility, and improved mechanical properties, while maintaining excellent casting characteristics and surface finish.
CHARACTERISTICS
- Grade 1 bright white metal (No rhodium plating required)
- Comparable melting temperatures to standard white gold
- Meets European standards for nickel release (EN 1811:1999)
BENEFITS
- Premium white color that lasts
- Dead set with very little prong spring back
- Can be used with other precious metals
- Increased hardness
HOW WHITE IS WHITE?
Much of today's white gold jewelry is a yellowish or off-white karat gold alloy that has been rhodium plated to provide a bright-white finish. Unfortunately, when the rhodium plating wears off, it becomes obvious that the gold is not very white at all. Because of this issue, the Manufacturing Jewelers and Suppliers of America (MJSA) and the World Gold Council created the White Gold Task Force. The WGTF's purpose was to create guidelines and a grading system for determining the color of white gold alloys, and to define how white an alloy must be to be classified as a white gold. As a result of this classification system, the levels or grades of whiteness for which rhodium plating is considered necessary, optional, or not needed were developed.
GOLD DISCOLOURATION
WHY DOES GOLD DISCOLOR FINGERS?
Sometimes, our customers will find their gold discolouring or their skin turning blackish green. The first thought is that faulty manufacturing or underkarating might be the problem when a ring "turns," blackening or discoloring the skin, clothing, or the jewelry itself. However, that is not the case.
The most common reason is metallic abrasion caused by makeup on skin or clothing. Cosmetics often contain compounds harder than the jewelry itself, which wear or rub off very tiny particles. Very finely divided metal always appears black rather than metallic, so it looks like a jet-black dust. When this dust comes into contact with absorbent surfaces such as skin or clothing, it sticks forming a black smudge.
To prevent this, try switching cosmetics. If this is not possible, we recommend that you remove rings and other jewelry while applying them, and clean skin areas in contact with jewelry with soap and water.
Another cause is actual corrosion of the metals. Gold itself does not corrode, but its primary alloys of silver or copper will do so (forming very dark chemical compounds) under moist or wet conditions.
When you perspire, fats and fatty acids released can cause corrosion of 14 karat gold, especially when exposed to warmth and air. This problem can be worse in seacoast and semi tropical areas, where chlorides combine with perspiration to form a corrosive element that discolors skin. Smog fumes gradually attack jewelry and are evident as a tarnish that rubs off on the skin.
We Suggest that you remove jewelry often and use an absorbent powder, free of abrasives, on skin that comes into contact with jewelry.
Even the design of jewelry can be an influence. Wide shanks have more surface area to contact abrasives or corrosives. Concave surfaces inside a shank form collection points that trap moisture and contaminants, causing a type of dermatitis.
Removing all rings before using soaps, cleaning compounds, or detergents, and cleaning your rings frequently at Shamin will in most cases solve the problem and keep your diamonds looking gorgeous.
In some cases, you may have a nickel allergy. If there is irritation or bumps on the skin, remove your jewellery and ask your doctor to test you for nickel allergy. In this case, we would recommend that you switch to a higher karat gold or a nickel free metal such as Platinum. The lower alloy content in18 karat gold (25% versus almost 42%) significantly reduces the problem, and the use of platinum should eliminate it completely.
