About our precious metals
We offer our pieces in a variety of high-quality precious metals. We primarily use 14 karat gold-filled, 14 karat rose gold-filled, 925 Sterling Silver, and 935 Argentium Silver. We have a handful of necklaces that are 18k Gold Vermeil.
We buy our precious metals from a trusted supplier known for ethical sourcing including recycled gold and silver.
Read on if you want to know a little more about each type of material we use.
What is 14k Gold-Filled?
Gold-Filled is a very thick layer of solid 14k gold pressure-bonded to a jewelers brass core. The solid 14k gold layer is 100x thicker than gold plating and makes up 5% of the weight of the piece. This gives it the look, feel, and durability of solid gold at a fraction of the cost. The gold layer is thick enough to keep skin sensitivities low just like solid gold.
Gold-Filled is the best value at an affordable price compared to solid gold.
14k Rose Gold-Filled is very similar to Yellow Gold-Filled except it has a bit more copper added to give it that rosy hue.
What is 18k Gold Vermeil?
Gold Vermeil is a thick layer of 18K gold over a Sterling Silver base metal to give a great balance of durability and looks.
Gold Vermeil is typically found on more complex designs that cannot be gold-filled but is much nicer and more durable than gold plated.
Is your silver real?
Yes! we use either 925 Sterling Silver or 935 Argentium Silver. Both are made from real silver.
What is 925 Sterling Silver?
925 Sterling Silver is 92.5% pure silver (that's where the 925 comes from) and 7.50% copper to give the silver strength without changing its appearance.
Sterling Silver will naturally tarnish or turn black over time. That is due to a chemical reaction when Sterling Silver is exposed to the air. The good news is the oils from your skin can help prevent tarnishing, so wear it often.
We ship all our silver pieces with a tiny anti-tarnish tab that can be placed in your jewelry box to help counteract tarnishing, protecting your pieces for 6 months in a properly sealed container. ( you can also use a tiny piece of chalk)
When your silver does start to tarnish or turn black it is very easy to polish with the included polishing cloth. Sterling Silver is a solid precious metal so you can polish it all you want.
What is 935 Argentium Silver?
935 Argentium Silver is 93.5% pure recycled silver and the magic ingredient of 6.50% Germanium to give this precious metal tarnish resistance. It has a slightly brighter look than 925 Sterling Silver. Can easily be polished when it does lightly tarnish. Tarnish resistant does NOT mean tarnish proof.
Well if you got this far....
Thank you so much for taking the time to read all of this!
Laurane