It was love at first sight!
You bought that fabulously stunning pair of earrings!
But wait! You started to develop skin allergy after wearing for less than a day! Little did you also realise that the jewellery has lost its lustre within 3 months!
What a nightmare!
While the design of a jewel piece fascinates us, should we also make an effort to find out more about the piece of jewel we are about to part our money for?
What Are They?
Typically, costume jewellery is made of less valuable materials including base metals (like iron, copper, zinc, nickel). They are also usually embellished with glass, plastic, and synthetic stones.
On the other hand, “real” or fine jewellery are made of precious metals (mainly silver, gold and platinum) and gems. These rare and natural elements have high lustre, valuable and also regarded as investment commodities. As opposed to costume jewellery, they are made to last a lifetime and hence treasured by many as keepsakes.
Are you allergic to jewellery?
Unless you are one who can be allergic practically to anything and everything, nickel in jewellery is usually the culprit for contact dermatitis.
Most costume jewellery is made of a mixture of alloy. Unless you are sure of its contents, the risk remains high.
In this category, copper will be a safer choice as it usually exists in its pure state.
Not too sure about stainless steel jewellery though. They are reported to be safe, but the truth is that most have nickel content of between 8% and 12%.
As for gold and silver, they exist in a natural form and are less reactive. Hence, they are not known to cause any skin allergy. Exceptional cases may occur when precious metals are mixed with other metals, especially nickel.
For example, sterling silver is 92.5% pure silver and 7.5% of another metal (often copper). In some cases, manufacturers also added traces of nickel.
White gold is an alloy of gold and some white metals such as silver and palladium. It is not uncommon for manufacturers to add nickel as it has a good bleaching effect on gold.
It is therefore crucial to ask and find out if the gold or silver jewellery that you are buying is nickel-free.
Characteristics of Precious Metals
All precious metals have their positive, as well as limiting qualities. In order to determine what suits you best, here's a simple comparison table of their unique characteristics for your reference.
Characteristics | Sterling Silver | Gold | Platinum |
Colour | Bright Silver | Rich Yellow | Bright White |
Purity | 92.5% silver 7.5% copper | 18K – 75% gold 14K – 58.3% gold 22K – 91.6% gold | 95% platinum |
Price | Least Expensive | More Expensive | Most expensive |
Pros | Sophisticated and edgy looking, affordable, and last a lifetime. | Most scratch resistant | Hypoallergenic, tarnish and corrosion resistant |
Cons | Will tarnish with time. Proper care will slow down the process. However, some like the warmth patina over time as it gives a vintage look. | White gold will require occasional rhodium plating to maintain its whiteness | Most easily scratched |
With all the above considerations in mind, do also match your desired quality jewellery with your affordability.
Happy accessorizing!
Brought to you by Liz Concepts
