There is no precious metal as bold as gold

From ancient times to modern day, gold has always been considered a symbol of wealth and status. Today gold is considered the most precious of metals to create beautiful jewellery and used as a symbol of promise, love and hope.

The beauty of choice

In many cultures, because of its colour, gold is associated with the sun and Yellow gold is still the traditional colour of choice when it comes to jewellery, although today gold is also available in white and rose too, both of which are super popular.

At Nique Jewellery we make and mix our golds from scratch. 9ct to 18ct in each of the three colours – White, Rose and Yellow. This is done very carefully ensuring we weigh the gold and the alloys correctly. Our Master Alloy recipe is mixed with pure gold at different ratios to make the desired metal for our current creation. These weights need to be measured very accuratly before being put into the crucible and melted into a bar.

To create these master alloy, we use – silver, copper, platinum, palladium, pending the colour and carat weight will also determine which ingredients are mixed to the master alloy.

Understanding carats

The standard unit of measurement for gold purity is the carat ‘ct’. And when you’re choosing that special piece or designing something, it is important to understand what this means.

9ct-Gold

9ct tends to be the most popular choice for jewellery that will be worn every day, the pure gold content equates to 37.5 percent, making it lighter in colour, but often more durable. This is the minimum standard of purity available in Australia.

14ct-Gold

14ct equates to 58.5 percent pure gold, making it a slightly brighter yellow colour for yellow gold than 9-ct but also a happy medium of balance for white and rose golds. A metal that is not as popular here in Australia, but gives a good balance of colour and is starting to gain a following.

18ct-Gold

Many antique pieces are 18cts, being 75 per cent pure gold, giving it a dazzling, shimmering bright yellow colour, and it is most often chosen for specialty jewellery items and for statement pieces. This is the most popluar for engagement rings and wedding bands no matter the colour of the gold.

22ct-Gold

22ct gold is 91 percent pure and while it has a beautiful shimmering finish, it is considered ‘soft’. It still makes stunning jewellery, but it’s more delicate and needs to be properly cared for and looked after. It doesn’t cope well with the wear and tear that jewellery can suffer when it is worn all the time.

24ct-Gold

This is the purest gold available at 99.9 percent. But it is not often made into jewellery. Why? It’s extremely soft, difficult to work with and can not hold its shape. This is more likely to be made into ‘bullion bars’.

There is no doubt that gold has stood the test of time, and it continues to be admired and coveted, not to mention Platinum and Palladium which might be a great topic for next months blog.

It’s great to clean out your jewellery box to see what your inventory is and why not combine a few pieces, have some repaired or even think about getting a new piece made using your gold and stone.

Talk to us about a special piece you’d like to have custom made, or view our bespoke jewellery creations online.