Vintage Cove - The Jewellery Metals
PRECIOUS METALS
.333 8K gold
.375 9K gold
.417 10K gold
.500 12K gold
.585 14K gold
.625 15K gold
.750 18K gold
.833 20K gold
.917 22K gold
1.00 24K gold
PLAT platinum
.925 sterling silver
.999 fine silver
PALL palladium
IRID iridium
GOLD
What do the Gold markings mean?
Solid, pure gold is 24K. Any rating less than 24K means there is another type of metal mixed into it. This is called an alloy. Pure gold is very soft. An alloy helps to strengthen it. Therefore, the lower the number, the stronger it will be. Eg. 10K gold is stronger than 14K gold, which is stronger than 18K gold.
24K is pure gold. 18K is 18 parts gold, with the other 6 parts being made up of one or more additional metals, making it 75% gold. Similarly, 12K is 12 parts gold, with the other 12 parts being made up of one or more additional metals, making it 50% gold.
The alloy metal is also how manufacturers can create different colours of gold, ie. red, pink, green, shades of yellow, even violet! Just because a gold item is a different colour than the standard “yellow” doesn’t mean it is a lesser quality of gold.
SILVER
What do the Silver markings mean?
As with gold, pure silver is a soft metal. For this reason, it is often alloyed with other metals to make it stronger. Sterling Silver is 92.5% pure silver and 7.5% copper. Silver jewellery must contain at least 92.5% pure silver to be marketed as silver.
STERLING SILVER
What is Sterling Silver?
Sterling silver is an alloy of 92.5% pure silver and 7.5% copper. The addition of copper makes the silver a stronger metal than if it was pure silver.
GOLDTONE & SILVERTONE
What does Goldtone mean? What does Silvertone mean?
These terms are used to indicate the colour of a metal. Often used on auction sites, such as eBay, where a piece of jewellery has not been tested for gold or silver content by a jeweller. Unless the manufacturer has stamped an item as being a precious metal, you can not be sure of its quality unless it is checked by a professional in this field.
This is not to say that goldtone and silvertone items are worthless. They may even turn out to be real gold or silver, but they should not be marketed as such without some form of evidence.
GOLD FILLED
What does Gold Filled mean?
Newer gold-filled items have markings that indicate how much and what type of gold was used for the layer. A marking that says 1/20 12K G.F. means that the jewellery is at least 1/20th of 12K gold by weight.
GOLD PLATED
What does Gold Plated mean?
The gold layer in gold-plated jewellery is typically thinner than the gold in gold-filled jewellery, so it usually wears away more quickly. There are a number of different ways in which plating is achieved.
GOLD WASHED
What does Gold Washed mean?
The term gold-washed is used to describe a very thin layer of gold - one that won't be very durable.
GILDED
What is gilding?
Gilding is the process of affixing thin gold foils to the surfaces of objects. Gilding dates back to ancient times in China, Egypt and many other countries.
MEXICAN SILVER
What is Mexican Silver?
As the name suggests, it is silver from Mexico. Hecho en Mexico - made in Mexico. From the early days of Aztecs and Spanish explorers, Mexico was rich in silver. During the Mexican War Of Independence (1810-1821), the mines were destroyed and the art of silverwork died out for some time. In the early 1900s there was a resurgence of Mexican silversmithing, and Mexico was returned to its former glory of being a world leader in silvercraft.
Roughly speaking, Mexican silver markings can be dated as follows -
1900-1920 - marked 900
1920-1940 - marked Mexico Silver, or Hecho en Mexico, or Silver Made in Mexico (commonly .925 purity)
1930-1945 - marked 980, 960, 940, 925
1948-1955 - eagle logo (with detailed markings), required by government
1950 onwards - marked Sterling
1955-1979 - eagle logo (silhouette outline), required by government
1979 onwards - letter/number mark
If there is a number on the eagle's chest, this refers to the city of assay or the individual maker.
The letter/number mark, introduced in 1979, replaced the eagle logo. The first letter refers to the location (eg. T for Taxco, M for Mexico City, G for Guadalajara, C for Cuernavaca). The second letter refers to the maker's surname. And the number further defines the maker. Eg. a mark of TC-45 means your item was made by the 45th artisan with a surname starting with C, to register in the city of Taxco after 1979. Unfortunately, there is no list to match numbers with names, and there are only a small number that have been identified.
DAMASCENE / JAPANESE DAMASCENE
What is Damascene?
The art of damascene was first brought to Japan about 2,000 years ago, reputedly form Damascus. A design is first drawn on a piece of tissue paper, and then placed over the metal surface and traced with a fine chisel into the base metal, usually steel. The outlines are then undercut four times crosswise and four times diagonally (hatched) to produce something like a silken texture. Into these minute grooves, gold or silver threads almost as fine as cobwebs are hammered, and a deer-horn hammer is used to smooth the surface and tamp down rough thread edges. The article is then placed in a cabinet and made to corrode by the use of nitrate acid, which later is removed with soda water. When dry, it is washed twice in weak salt water and baked over a fire. Eight or nine times a day for a period of five days in summer and seven in winter, the article is washed and baked until all the rust in the steel has been conducted out. The clean surface is then dipped into thick red-clay mud and baked again over a hot fire. This process is repeated from 50 to 100 times.
The next step is to coat the surface with powdered charcoal and oil, bake and repeat from 10 to 20 times, adding more charcoal and oil each time. A piece of cryptomeria wood is used to clean off the black powder, and a small steel rod to rub the surface to a polish. The last step is to add any necessary carvings. Often these are monograms or handwritten names of the purchasers, if desired.
To retain the original polish, the article should be rubbed once a month with a soft cloth dipped in olive oil. Should the inlays become tarnished, rub them with a cotton cloth stretched over a fingertip.
If you are lucky enough to own a piece of damascene work, take another look at it and marvel at the amount of time and care taken in producing your item. Cherish it and keep it in good condition.
OTHER DEFINITIONS THAT MAY BE USEFUL –
CABACHON - a stone that is cut with a rounded dome top and a flat bottom. Often round or oval in shape, but can be other shapes as well.
FACETED - a stone that is cut with many small flat surfaces (like a diamond). The many surfaces make a sparkling effect as the stone catches the light from any direction.
OPAQUE - Opaque stones do not allow light to pass through.
TRANSLUCENT - Translucent stones allow light to pass through, but the light is scattered or diffused. Eg. Moonstone, opal, lucite.
TRANSPARENT - Transparent stones allow light to pass through without scattering or diffusing the light. Eg. Diamond, emerald, ruby.
