Welcome to our all new online Jewelry store and guide...
Accessories go a long way in the fashion world so it's no wonder we all love them so much. While there are virtually thousands of types of jewelry out there, the main three that dominate today's market are diamonds, gold, and platinum. Alternative metals are quickly becoming a hot competitor, but they don't make such an impact.
Diamonds are expertly cut and set and always the goal of any movie heist. As a result of their beauty, diamonds are also extremely expensive in some cases. While there are imitators such as Cubic Zirconium and even Dominique featured by shopping channels, all jewelers and appraisers will be able to tell you the real gem.
Diamonds are judged based on the four 4 Cs: color, cut, clarity, and carat. These four interesting points help determine the worth or value of a particular diamond and every good jeweler can tell you the ranking of each piece without hesitation.
Applications for diamonds are most popular in earrings, bracelets, rings, and necklaces. For many people there are no replacements for diamonds and it's quite simple to tell the difference between a real and fake gem. If the diamond is mounted, look straight down through it; if you can see the bottom of the gem, it's not a real diamond. If it's not a mounted diamond, just set it on top of a newspaper upside down; if you can read the paper through the diamond chances are it's probably glass or quartz.
In a nutshell, don't give into the impulse to try and begin scratching things with your diamond; real diamonds will always have a certificate with them unless you are purchasing one second hand. Diamonds are a beautiful and expensive gem.
Gold is the most popular metal in terms of jewelry. With different karats of gold and a secondary white gold option, it is probably the most versatile of all the metals in the jewelry market. Typically, gold is found in 10k, 14k, 18k, and 24k with a few karats in between. The karat structure of gold is used to judge just exactly how pure the metal is on a sliding scale with 24k gold being – literally – pure gold.
As an example, 18k gold is 18 parts gold and 6 parts other metal; each karat division of gold will always add to 24 karats, but the actual karat structure is to let a consumer know just how much gold the piece is composed of. Real gold will always have a stamp on the back of the product with its karat type.
Aside from this, 24k gold is also the most fragile and malleable so it's very important to take care of it. Like diamonds, the price of gold will increase with higher karat ratings. Gold jewelry is in all shapes and forms with the number one consumer product being wedding bands. Aside from this, white gold and regular gold are used as a metal for a variety of different jewelry such as bracelets, necklaces, and even watches. Often times, this versatile and flexible metal is coupled with precious gemstones like opals and citrines and sometimes even diamonds.
Often chosen as the alternative to gold for high rollers, platinum is a precious metal that can be found in many of the same jewelry applications as gold, but not to be confused with white gold. Platinum isn't necessarily as popular as white gold because of the simple fact of its cost. The easiest way to determine if that ring you're holding is really platinum is by the stamp. Platinum jewelry will have a "PT" stamp either on the inside of a ring or back of a bracelet or necklace. As a general idea, a platinum ring will cost twice the price of a duplicate ring in white gold that's 18k.