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Vintage Jewelry  

Metals

Gold - Silver - Pewter - Copper & More

Metal is perhaps the most popular if not the most common material used to make jewelry. Is it used by itself or set as a base to hold and display other materials. Metals range widely in value, weight and durability. 

Precious metals are usually marked, but sometimes finding or understand the marks can be a challenge. Below is a simple guide to the most common metals used in vintage jewelry.

The Vintage Anelia collection has hundreds of pieces made from precious and no-precious metals. 

The items shown are all from our collection.

GOLD

Gold is probably the most popular metal used in jewelry, at least in vintage and costume jewelry because it can be used in a variety of purities (affecting cost) and colors.

 

CONTENT PURITY & COMPOSITION

Gold markings in the USA are based on 24 parts, with 24 parts being 100%. In Europe they often use the percentage numbers instead.

24K gold – 24 parts or 100% pure gold, but really too soft for use in jewelry

18K gold - 18 parts gold or 75% gold, marked 750 in Europe

14K gold = 14 parts gold, or 58.3% gold, marked 585 in Europe

12K gold = 12 parts gold, or 50% gold, marked 500 in Europe

10K gold = 10 parts gold, or 41.7% gold, marked 471 in Europe. 10K is the minimum karat designation used in the US. 

 

In addition to the purity of the gold used, jewelry items can be sold gold, gold filled or gold plated. Gold Filled and Gold Plated jewelry became popular in the Depression years to satisfy the desired look of gold, but at a fraction of the price.

 

GOLD FILLED is the next best thing to solid gold.

Gold filled is a process of using heat & pressure to bond a thin layer of actual gold (usually a hollow tube of gold) to a base metal core (often brass*). Gold filled items have markings that indicate how much and what type of gold was used for the layer. A marking of “1/20 12K GF” means that the jewelry is at least 1/20th 12K gold by weight. Federal standards dictate the weight of the gold must be at least 1/20th of the total weight of the metal, and it must be stamped to show the quality and quantity of its gold. (If “GF” is used the weight is not required). Gold Filled jewelry is usually not deeply sculpted or heavy.

Gold filled wears, looks and lasts like solid gold because its outer surface IS solid gold. Gold Filled jewelry is durable and can last a lifetime with regular, easy care. It is not likely to chip or fade easily.

*Nickel is not found in gold filled or gold overlay, making it safe for those with an allergy to nickel..

 

GOLD OVERLAY is manufactured by the same method as gold filled, however, the weight of the gold can be less than 1/20th the weight of the metal. So you may see a stamp such as 1/40 14K. Gold overlay jewelry will also be stamped indicating the quality of its gold content. Gold Overlay can also called Rolled Gold. ( RG, OG, GO)

 

GOLD-PLATED items are created by an electro-chemical process that places a thin layer of gold onto a base metal such as copper or brass. The thickness of the gold plating helps determine the value of the piece. Gold-Plated jewelry is much less expensive than Gold-filled, as the gold layer is thinner and will more easily wear off.

 

ROLLED GOLD PLATE (RGP) or GOLD ELECTROPLATE (GE) is the thinnest of all gold plating, but by federal standards the gold must be at least 7 millionths of an inch thick and of a fineness of 10K or better.

 

HEAVY GOLD PLATE (HGE) is thicker with a higher gold layer and value. By law, to use the term gold plate, the layer of gold plating must be at least 7/1,000,000-inch thick.

COLORS OF GOLD

The color of gold depends on its purity and the other metals mixed in to create a different color.

YELLOW GOLD – the shade varies from a dark or light golden yellow depending on the karat; usually the higher the karat, the deeper the gold color

RED OR PINK GOLD (18K) – 75% Gold, plus Copper (and a little Silver gives a look of more pink than red)

WHITE GOLD (18K) – Gold mixed with Nickel or Palladium, sometimes a small amount of zinc, copper, tin, or manganese

GREEN GOLD (18K) - Gold mixed with about equal parts Silver, and sometimes a little Cadmium

BLUE-WHITE OR BLUE GOLD (18K) - Gold with Iron

PURPLE GOLD - Gold mixed with Aluminum

BLACK HILLS GOLD – using an assortment of yellow, pink and green gold in the same piece

 

Tips to identify gold:

  • Look for the mark - often tiny on the back or inside such as the clasp or inside the ring band

  • Gold is 'soft' – the higher the content, the softer

  • Gold does NOT tarnish - if it's green it is not gold

  • Gold is NOT magnetic

A good way to tell if something is solid gold is to look at the edges - if you can see another color/metal peeking through, it is usually gold plated, or not gold at all.

 

In Europe, older pieces often have a shape around the purity number hallmark to designate the material type - A rectangular with the corners cut off is for gold, an oval is for silver (see photo below), and a house shape is for platinum.

 

CARE/CLEANING – Soak in a mixture of warm water and a few drops of liquid dish soap. You can also use sodium-free club soda. You can scrub lightly with a soft toothbrush – but not too hard to avoid scratches. Polish or blot dry with soft cloth.

If the piece does not have any gemstones, you can remove stubborn dirt with rubbing alcohol or a mixture of 1:7 ammonia to water.

SILVER

Silver is a very popular jewelry metal. It’s pretty, and costs less than gold. It also seems to be more appealing to the younger generation. Though silver has been marked with its purity in Europe for centuries, purity marks only came into standard usage in North America in the middle of the 1900s.

 

CONTENT PURITY & COMPOSITION

Silver purity is measured in fractions of 1000, with 1000 being rare pure silver. What’s using called “pure silver” is between 850 and 980. The level of purity often varies with the designer and the standard in the country of origin.

 

Identifying silver

Almost all real silver pieces are marked, though being soft, sometimes the marks on vintage jewelry may be well worn and hard to read.

Some clues to common silver marks are:

Sterling Silver is usually 925 or higher

Britain’s standard is 925

Scandinavian silver standard is 925, but often has a 830 mark

Egypt’s standard is only 830

Russia used a slightly different measurement; their standard is about 925, but maybe marked 875

Mexico typically used 925 or better

Because Mexico is such a wonderful producer of silver jewelry, they have developed a system is identifying marks indicating purity, the designer and the region. One popular source region is Taxco, marked with a “T” or the number “3”.

 

NOT Silver

NS – this mark indicates silver plating over a metal alloy, usually Nickel

Alpaca Silver - actually an alloy of copper, nickel, zinc and/or iron, and though it maybe plated with silver, it may not contain any real silver at all

German Silver – NOT silver, but an alloy of nickel, copper and zinc

 

SILVER DESIGNS

Silver (and some other metals) use some common jewelry design techniques:
FILIGREE – thin silver or gold wire is twisted into fine intricate open, airy, or lacy, patterns or shapes.  
REPOUSSE - a method of creating raised designs on sheet metal by hammering or punching, also called embossing.
INLAY - when a piece of material (stone, shell, glass) is partially embedded into a metal so that the two materials have a level surface.
CHANNEL SET - when jewels/stones each held in a metal rim, without prongs. This similar to Bezel set, but usually used when several stones are in a row.
CHANNEL WORK - a matrix of compartments filled with semi-precious stones creating a mosaic look. This technique is most commonly used in Native American, particularly Zuni, jewelry.
ENAMELING - fusing colored powdered glass to metal creating a vitreous, glass-like decorative surface. The process provides great contrast, color variations, and a shiny and glazed surface.

 

CARE/CLEANING

Unlike gold, silver with tarnish (but not rust), but it can be polished away. To lessen the amount of rubbing you can use silver polishing products, warm water with a few drops of liquid dish soap, even add in a little baking soda (do NOT use baking soda if the piece contains any stones, gems or crystals, even just plastic ones). Polish dry carefully with a soft cloth, drying thoroughly.

 

In addition, many silver pieces have other hallmark designer to note their designer and region of origin. There are some very comprehensive websites about identifying silver marking. A few are:

Online Encyclopedia of Silver Marks  and The Silver Collection 

VERMEIL is a type of sterling silver electroplated with gold; it is less expensive than gold-plating over silver jewelry as it can be applied a finish on already cast jewelry.

 

GOLD TONE jewelry has NO gold at all, just another metal treated to have the color of gold. The terms Gold Tone and Gold Wash are federally approved for items less than 7 millionths of an inch. You may also see "layered,” which is not a recognized term, so it can mean any thickness of gold.

PLATINUM – a precious, heavy metal. It is dense and malleable making it ideal for use in making jewelry, but it is also the rarest of the major metals and thus the most expensive.
 
PEWTER - tin with a small amount of copper. It is soft, yet durable, and used since the Middle Ages for kitchen and service ware. Pewter is considered to be a precious metal and the fourth most popular jewelry metal after gold, silver, and platinum.
 
COPPER – soft and malleable, so easily made into jewelry, or used as an alloy with gold or silver. It is a reddish-brown color, but tarnishes to a green As it is a good heat conductor; it is also thought to relieve the symptoms of arthritis and poor circulation. (Copper bracelets were extremely popular in the 1960s & 7os.) You can clean copper with warm soapy water, and with an acidic substance like ketchup or lemon juice.
 

STEEL – the look for silver, but much more affordable and it is hypo-allergenic and does not tarnish. TOLEDO GOLD or “Damasquinado de Oro” is a process of deeply engraving steel with a design, then embedding gold foil filling the cuts. The purity of the gold used can vary. Damascene jewelry is unique, with intricate designs, and is primarily made in the artistic city of Toledo in Spain. (Vintage Anelia has some wonderful Toledo Gold pieces in our collection.)

 
BRASS - an alloy of copper and zinc; the proportions varied to create a range of colors


BRONZE - an alloy of mostly copper and a little tin
 
Iron, nickel, cobalt, and steel are magnetic, so their existence in jewelry can be easily identified.
 

Browse our Information Pages:

Vintage Costume Jewelry hallmarks

 

 

 

Vintage jewelry types & terms

Materials used in Vintage Jewelry

Check out the full Vintage Anelia costume jewelry collection at ArtFire.com

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