Carat is a weight designation. A one carat weight is 0.20 of a gram. Carat weight is the usual measurement of weight for gemstones.

Karat is usually a percentage designation for gold. Pure gold is 24 karats. If you divide 14 karats by 24 karats you get .583 which is the percentage of gold in 14 karats. 18 karats would be 75% and so on.

Russell Oshita, the diamonddude
The Diamond Specialists Inc.
Diamonds Hawaii

Her reaction could be due to a couple of causes. One is that she is allergic to the nickel alloy that is used primarily as the metal to make white gold. It has been said that there may be about 15% – 20% of the world’s population that has some degree of allergic reaction to nickel, some a lot worse than others.

One possible solution to this problem is to use a white gold that does not use nickel. There are white gold jewelry that uses other metals other than nickel to produce the white color although it is not as abundantly available.

Other alternatives are to plate the white gold with Rhodium that will help to insulate a person from the white gold. It is a relatively inexpensive fix.  Re-plating with rhodium just has to be done periodically as necessary. Another option is that you can change your setting to platinum or palladium, both of which are hypo-allergenic.

The second possible cause of the rash could be a fungus infection because of the dampness under the ring that creates a condtion that is condusive to fungal growth. Anti- fungal creme will usually alleviate this problem.

Russell Oshita, the diamonddude

The Diamond Specialists  Inc.

Diamonds Hawaii

Sterling silver is silver that by composition is 92.5% silver and the rest are other metals alloys. Commonly copper is used as the alloy. Pure or fine silver 99.9% is much to soft to be  used practically for jewelry purposes. Alloys are added to increase hardness and still allow malleability.

Other alloys used is the metal geranium, platinum and zinc which are primarily used to reduce tarnishing but also to improve silver’s workability.

Sterling silver can be identified by 925 stamped on the jewelry piece or the words Sterling Silver.

Russell Oshita, the diamonddude
The Diamond Specialists Inc.
Diamonds Hawaii

Some may think that charm bracelets are passe. For others it is a collection of important memories.

Some people have a charm bracelet that is a travelogue of their all the places that they have been to a wonderful reminder of the how big the world is.

Others have charm bracelets that are more personal in nature. They may have hearts with names of their children or grandchildren, charms of their pets, anything that has that personal connection to their memories.

Charm bracelets are any chain bracelet that has links that are large enough to attach a charm. It can be made in gold, silver or even in metal that is not precious.

Charm bracelets are endearing for the things that it represents to the owner. It is an accumulation of all the things we should be grateful for.

Russell Oshita, the diamonddude
The Diamond Specialists Inc.
Diamonds Hawaii

Now there are a greater number of choices in materials that are not the traditional choices of gold, silver and platinum.

Men now have other metal choices such as tungsten, titanium, palladium, stainless steel, and ceramic.  There are even combination of these different materials to create even more ring designs like mokume. Diamonds and gemstones can even be added for more bling.

It may actually be difficult now to choose a ring because there are simply too many choices, but having choice is much better than having none. Enjoy the quest.

Russell Oshita, the diamonddude

The Diamond Specialists Inc.

Diamonds Hawaii

The short and sweet answer would have been that the best value would have been the lowest price per gram for what ever karatage gold you were interested in.

What makes this answer difficult is that value is not just based on weight alone. The design factor has to be taken in account along with the labor cost to make it and the personal aesthetic choices of the person.

Some rings are more intricate in design and takes longer to make. Some are made by machines but it has to be programed, manned and the cost of the machine becomes part of the cost of the product.

One of a kind custom design rings may cost more because of its uniqueness. Designer rings are exclusive designs whose value may be based on the personal appeal of the buyer.

The long answer is that if you take everything in account based on the weight of the ring and its design and your personal appreciation of it, thenThe best value is the one that you feel for what you paid is the one that makes you feel the happiest even if it is not the least expensive one.

Russell Oshita, the diamonddude
The Diamond Specialists Inc.
Diamonds Hawaii

Many do not know that there is a third alternative if you do not count silver. That alternative is palladium. What is palladium you ask?

In an earlier reply to a question about palladium on this blog, it was explained that palladium is a metal in the platinum family that is hypoallergenic like platinum, a white metal very similar to platinum. It is 10% harder than platinum making it more scratch resistant that allows it to stay shinier longer.  It is also less dense and lighter than platinum,  making it about the same weight as 14k gold but considerably less expensive than platinum. Its cost is similar to 14k white gold.

As mentioned palladium makes a good alternative for those wanting a metal whiter than white gold, that is harder than platinum which also  costs  less.

So, now,  you ask what does it look like compared to the other whiter metals.

The following picture is from left to right, silver, 14k white gold, platinum and palladium.

If  Palladium appeals to you, ask your jeweler to show it to you, it may just be what you are looking for.

Russell Oshita, the diamonddude
The Diamond Specialists Inc.
Diamonds Hawaii

We told her that it was a not a good repair job. A proper repair was one that visually you could not tell where it was repaired and the only way you could detect it was to run your fingers along the chain to feel the slightly stiff spot where the chain was repaired.

We took it in for repair and when she returned to pick it up was very happy to have her beautiful chain back looking like new with no evidence of the glob.

Russell Oshita
The Diamond Specialists Inc.
Diamonds Hawaii

The jewelry she had were some chains and rings and they were turning black. This was a result of silver oxidizing or commonly known as tarnish.

To get the tarnish off you can just purchase silver cleaner from the drugstore. Longs has several brands available. Some of them are just cleaners and will just remove the black tarnish. It is usually in liquid form. These will not make the silver shiny.

Others are polishers that will remove the tarnish and polish the silver. These are usually in paste or semi-liquid form. These may not remover the tarnish in the recessed areas but will make the silver shiny.

To get  a brand new just bought look it is best to take it to a professional jeweler who will take out all the dents and scratches, remove the tarnish and polish the jewelry to a high shine.

Russell Oshita, the diamonddude

The Diamond Specialists, Inc.

Diamonds Hawaii

Upon inspection we found that it was an 18k white gold ring that was originally plated with Rhodium.

We explained to her that gold is yellow and pure gold is 24k. Eighteen karat gold is eighteen parts out of twenty four which make the gold content 75% the rest is white metals primarily nickel, palladium and zinc. That would mean that the majority of the metal is yellow. The whiter metals will dilute the yellow color a bit but still leave it with a tinge of yellow.

Joan’s ring was rhodium plated which covered the white gold and made it look whiter. Rhodium is a metal in the platinum family and is white in color, but as plating it is just a surface covering and is eventually is worn off exposing the yellowish tinge of the white gold.

We told her that she can have it periodically re-plated, the frequency dependent on how active she is, possibly every year or two.  She could also have it remade in platinum or palladium, other white metals, never having to worry about color changing or plating.

She decided to have it re-plated and to make it in platinum or palladium when she was ready to change the style of the ring, maybe in a year or two.

Russell Oshita, the diamonddude

The Diamond Specialists, Inc.

Diamonds Hawaii