Platinum
Platinum is a precious metal 35 times rarer than gold and twice as hard as gold. With a high density, platinum is heavier than gold. High purity platinum is a popular precious metal choice for wedding rings due to its durability and excellent resistance to corrosion.
Pt 990: It contains not less than 99% pure platinum and is stamped “Pt 990.”
Pt 950: It contains 95% pure platinum combines with 5% alloys and is stamped “Pt950.”
Pt 900: It contains 90% pure platinum combines with 10% alloys and is stamped “Pt 900.”
Gold
Gold has been a popular precious metal for coinage and jewelry for centuries. The Egyptians are probably the first to create works of art with gold, and to use clay ware to separate gold from other metals and impurities. While in China, gold and silver were used as ornaments and traded commodity as early as the Xia Dynasty. Gold, as a symbol of wealth, became widely used in ornaments by the nobles during the Spring and Autumn and the Warring States Periods. Except for a store of value, people now place greater emphasis on the designs and patterns of gold ornaments.
Electroformed Gold Articles
In the electroforming process, pure gold is layered onto a wax model of the desired design, which is melted and removed later. Electroforming technology enables jewelry manufacturers to produce hollow-shaped and light-weight gold articles of complex and amazing design. Hollow ornaments can save up to two-thirds of gold consumption in manufacturing.
Wedding Bangles
According to the Chinese tradition, the parents of the bride and the groom will give the bride a pair of gold bangles, called “dragon and phoenix bangles,” as gift symbolizing a blissful union and love of the wedding couple. Today, the elderly also like to choose a pair of dragon and phoenix bangles or bracelets in fashionable design as gift to the bride, wishing the couple a happy life together. The bride usually wears all the gold jewelry received on the wedding day to express her thanks to friends and relatives.
Karat Gold
18K Gold and 18K White Gold
K-gold contains 75% pure gold alloyed with 25% other precious metals. With these other alloys, K-gold can appear in a wide range of colours with mild metal luster.
U.S. regulation:
It is stamped with “18K” or “Au750.”
Its hardness and durability make it a perfect material for setting diamonds and other gemstone jeweleries.
14K Gold and 14K White Gold
K-gold contains 58.3% pure gold alloyed with 41% other precious metals. With these other alloys, K-gold can appear in a wide range of colours with mild metal luster.
U.S. regulation:
It is stamped with “14K” or “Au583.”
Its hardness and durability make it a perfect material for setting diamonds and other gemstone jeweleries.
Silver
Silver is a very ductile and malleable metal with a more brilliant metallic than gold. Its hardness is only about 2.5 to 3 on the Mohs scale, and its density is about 54% that of pure gold. Therefore, silver is usually combined with other metals to improve its hardness and durability. The most popular alloy consists of 92.5% silver and 7.5% copper, which is called “Sterling”, “S925” or “Ag925”. Elegant and fashionable silver jewellery comes in a variety of styles suitable for different groups of people. Apart from jewellery, silver is also used to make coins, silverwares and decorative articles.