Jewellery : Silver Jewellery Fashion Changes

Jewellery : Silver Jewellery Fashion Changes

By Robert Kelly
Silver seems to be in with a capital ‘i’. More and more people are turning away from the expensive spectrum of jewellery like gold & platinum set with diamonds or other precious stones in favour of rhodium plated silver set with cubic zirconia’s and other semi precious stones. The process of rhodium plating has given silver a whole new look, but most people do not even know what rhodium is. Rhodium is from the platinum family of precious metals and is one of the rarest elements on earth! Rhodium is bright white in colour and extremely hard making it ideal for jewellery plating as its very scratch resistant. Rhodium has been used for the last few years to plate silver jewellery as it is very resistant to corrosion, so will protect your silver from tarnishing. The rhodium gives silver a shine that looks like white gold or platinum and with it still being a precious metal it means that you are not compromising with quality, just saving money. Rhodium plating or "platinum enhanced sterling silver" as it's sometimes known, means that your silver will not go dull and grey like silver items from previous generations, but instead will sparkle brightly like platinum.

Major fashion houses like Tiffany are producing some stunning lines in rhodium plated silver, along with other major designers like Gucci and Christian Dior. When rhodium plated jewellery is combined with semi precious stones, you get a very desirable look at a very affordable price. This allows people to change their jewellery much more frequently than before due to the affordability and wear it without the great fear of loss that we all have when wearing an expensive piece of jewellery. This also makes fantastic common sense as more and more of the countries police authorities advise against the wearing of any expensive jewellery when out in a busy place at night like London etc.

The semi precious stones for next season have to be peridot and bright cubic zirconia, there is still a strong influence of men and women wearing cubic zirconia instead of diamonds. The quality of cubic zirconia are so good now it is very difficult to tell the difference between a CZ and a good quality diamond. For a fashion item why spend hundreds on a diamond when a CZ will cost a fraction of the price, look very much the same and do the same job?

The future of jewellery and in particular silver is rosy. Women will always want jewellery, and no woman will ever have enough earrings or rings in her jewellery box. Silver is becoming a more precious and scarce material. With modern manufacturing and high standards of machine jewellery rather than hand made items the versatility is not only promising but also a method to be watched intently.

This article is brought to you by Robert Kelly of http://www.iluvm.co.uk - Wholesale Silver Jewellery
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Jewellery : Secrets Of Diamond Jewellery Pricing

Jewellery : Secrets Of Diamond Jewellery Pricing

By Jeremy Kanzen
Pricing structure within the diamond industry is very secretive. For consumers this can be confusing as there are often big differences in the prices of Diamond jewellery.

If however you know the exact details of the jewellery that you are hoping to buy then comparing the prices can be a whole lot easier and the differences in the prices being asked becomes a lot more transparent.

Below are some “easy to understand” reasons as to why you will find variations in prices:

1.Branding Jewellery Is Difficult – Although products are usually more expensive buying into a brand makes price comparisons easier. The prices go up or down according to which brand you are buying from.

2.Diamond Jewellery Is Very Expensive To Stock – Unfortunately a high street jeweller not only has the normal day to day running costs of a shop they also have to stock expensive jewellery that they may not sell in large numbers. They also have to contend with higher than average insurance and security costs. It is therefore necessary for high street jewelers to have high profit margins in order to cover their higher than average costs.

3.The Quality Of Diamonds Used – The price of jewellery is greatly affected by the quality of the diamonds that are set within it. What might seem like small variations in quality on paper can end up hugely affecting the price.

4.Grading Diamonds Is Not A Science – Most people are unaware that the grading of a diamond is only an opinion and not an exact science. Of course the more trusted the source is who gives the opinion is of benefit but this is the key area where you could loose money when buying jewellery.

5.Retailers With No Scruples- Many diamond jewellery retailers will try and over grade their diamonds in order to push the prices up. You should only buy jewellery from a trusted source.

Above are just some of the reasons why it is important that you trust the jeweller you are buying your diamonds off. It is vitally important that you feel comfortable with your jeweller. Ultimately an honest diamond jeweller with his reputation to keep and nothing to hide will be keen to validate his pricing.

A large number of jewellery sales are now taking place online and I believe that these numbers are set to increase as we all get used to paying for larger items on the internet. We should however employ the same techniques for buying jewellery online as we do for buying it in the high street!

Before you part with any cash I would recommend that you call the online jeweller to ask them about their company and products, above anything this should give you a feel of the type of company that you are buying from. Good online jewelers also have clear returns and delivery procedures and should always have a strong visible contact number!

In our opinion the best way to buy jewellery is through recommendation so if you happy with your purchase don’t forget to recommend other people.

Jeremy Kanzen is the Managing Director of Slade & Kempton - one of the UKs leading diamond jewellery manufacturers and diamond jewellery wholesalers.
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Jewellery : Gold, Silver And Platinum - They're Not Called 'Precious' Metals For Nothing

Jewellery : Gold, Silver And Platinum - They're Not Called 'Precious' Metals For Nothing

By Elisha Burberry
When you're buying a special piece of jewellery - whether it's an engagement ring or a birthday necklace - it's likely you'll hear the term 'precious metal' thrown around a lot. But what exactly is a precious metal - and what makes it so 'precious'? When it comes to jewellery, the three most precious metals are silver, gold and platinum - in that particular order. And if you're buying jewellery made out of these metals, it's important to know what each of them denotes, and how expensive they are, before making your purchase.

Silver, for example, is one of the cheapest precious metals, and currently sits at about one fiftieth the price of gold by mass, although it did once trade at one sixth the price of gold before the Age of Discovery. As a soft metal, silver needs to be alloyed with other metals before being made into jewellery, in order to make the metal stronger and more resistant. 'Sterling Silver' needs to contain at least 92.5% pure silver in order to gain this mark (the remaining 7.5% is usually comprised of copper). This small copper content means that silver jewellery is likely to tarnish, so if you're thinking about buying a sterling silver ring or bracelet, it's important to make sure you clean in properly. Many people like to use toothpaste to clean silver jewellery, but if you're looking for a less abrasive cleaning formula, it's best to invest in a silver-cleaning fluid at the time of purchase. Further, to make sure the silver jewellery you've bought is high quality, ensure that it's been stamped with a purity mark (like 925) before you buy.

Gold, on the other hand, has long-held associations with investment and wealth as a precious metal. As with silver, gold is a soft metal and so also has to be alloyed with other metals to make it hard enough for jewellery making. Pure gold, for example is yellow, while white gold is gold that has been alloyed with nickel, copper and zinc, and can sometimes look similar to platinum. In this way, the colour of gold can be manipulated in order to create a number of different types.

Of these three popular precious metals, however, platinum is the most expensive. Its heavy-weight and durable nature means that it's great for diamond-encrusted jewellery and is similar in colour, though not in properties, to white gold. Generally speaking, platinum jewellery is 90% pure platinum and 10% iridium or palladium alloy. Moreover, jewellery that contains more than 95 per cent pure platinum is marked 'platinum' (950 plat or 950pt), whereas 85 percent pure platinum will be marked 850plat or 850pt. Platinum jewellery is rapidly gaining popularity and other related metals - like palladium and titanium - are, as a result being used with increasing frequency in jewellery-making. Hence, platinum jewellery designs are often modern and chunky, with an ethos that reflects the lifestyle of its new buyers.

Elisha Burberry is an online, freelance journalist and keen traveller and watersports enthusiast. Originally from Scotland, she now resides in London.
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Jewellery : Palladium for Jewellery -- Turns Yellow Gold White

Jewellery : Palladium for Jewellery -- Turns Yellow Gold White

By Gary Hocking
Palladium is an exciting metal to use in jewellery making. It is a soft silver-white metal which is actually whiter than platinum. Gold and palladium are totally soluble in one another. When it is mixed or alloyed with yellow gold it turns the gold into what we know as white gold.

We used to use nickel to alloy with yellow gold to make white gold but nickel is highly toxic. Palladium is more expensive than gold and it costs more to alloy it with gold than nickel but it turns gold into a harder and stronger metal as well as being white. That’s why white gold costs more than yellow gold jewellery.

Palladium, discovered in 1803 by William Wollaston and named after the asteroid Pallas, has been used since 1939 for jewellery making as a replacement for platinum.

So palladium is not just used as an alloy with gold to make white gold but is a metal used by itself for making white jewellery. It has several advantages over white gold or platinum.

First of all it is lighter. 44% lighter than platinum and 38 % lighter than gold. That’s important because it allows you to make a larger, bulkier piece of jewellery and it is still not too heavy to wear. But on the positive side it is not as light as titanium or alluminium so you still have the comfort and feel that you are wearing your jewellery.

Secondly, being harder and tougher than gold it doesn’t need as much polishing and maintenance. Thirdly it is cheaper than the other two metals so the manufacturer can make more jewellery for less cost and you benefit there as well as a consumer.

Consider that if you want a white metal piece of jewellery at the high end you have three alternatives: Platinum, white gold and palladium. What you want ideally is a hard, tough metal which has a high lustre when polished and is the cheapest.

Palladium is harder than gold, does not need to be rhodium plated like white gold, has a high lustre like Platinum, is lighter in weight and when Platinum is $600 an ounce and gold is $400 then palladium comes in at a fantastic $200! No contest for me

Gary Hocking makes custom jewellery specializing in Australian opals. He has his own website http://www.jewelleryexpress.com.au Feel free to use this article as long as you keep the bio and the live link to his website.
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Jewellery : Gems and Jewelry

Jewellery : Gems and Jewelry

By Ashwani Rawat
The word jewelry is derived from the word jewel, which was anglicized from the Old French "jouel" in around the 13th century. If you are beauty conscious and wish to look more and more beautiful, then gems and jewelry are the best way for looking beautiful. Women take special care towards their look, jewellery is their first choice for looking unique.

On the eve of special events like marriage party, birth day party, reception party and other occasions, women can go for numerous type of jewelry made of aquamarine, amethyst, blue topaz, citrine, garnet, tanzanite, diamond etc. Jewelleries like rings, bracelets, pendants, earrings, necklaces; nose rings, brooches and anklets are the most appreciated jewelries. Today there are numerous companies and manufacturers who are engaged in manufacturing various kinds of jewelries.

Indian gems and jewellery have been admitted the world’s most exquisite items because of its design and quality. India is a rich source of numerous jewelries and gems in this sphere. It is India only where jewelry are made for every part of the body. Here the range of gems and jewelry is varied from religious to purely aesthetic one. Gems and jewelry crafted in India is not only for humans but it is for gods, ceremonial elephants and horses. It is the Indian jewelry, which has been given a royal patronage from ancient time. Indian manufacturers make such kind of gems and jewelry, which is not only eye-catching but it is traditional as well as modern also.

For more information on Indian jewelry manufacturers, exporters and suppliers you can visit the following link http://www.tradeget.com/companies/C10/gems_and_jewelry.html
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