A GUIDE FOR METALS
At Rudolf Heltzel, we hand-make all of our jewellery in 18ct yellow, white and rose gold along with Platinum.
All our precious metal comes from an RJC (Recyclable Jewellery Council) certified facility in Germany that derives all its precious metal from Urban Mining. Furthermore, they are also certified by the LBMA (London Bullion Market Association) as well as the LPPM (The London Platinum and Palladium Market).
These guarantee due-diligence in making sure none of its gold or platinum is derived from sources that have harmed human rights and have not supported any criminal activity.
Also, we make sure that the gold we use is now CO2 neutral
Yellow Gold
Yellow Gold Is an important precious metal which has been used in jewellery making since 560 BC. All cultures throughout the world recognise gold’s significance as a pure, inert precious rare metal.
24ct gold is the purest gold available, but it is too soft to make into jewellery for every day as it will wear down very quickly.
18ct gold is harder and just as attractive as 22ct gold which is the purest that can reasonably be made into jewellery.
Yellow gold is the most hypoallergenic of all the three gold colours and historically is the most popular metal used for wedding and engagement rings… It is also the easiest to maintain of all the precious metals.
White Gold
The main difference between yellow gold and our white gold is that white gold is an alloy of gold and palladium which affects the colour of the gold, making it take on a more silver appearance. Like yellow gold, white gold’s purity is defined in carats.
White gold produces a beautiful polish and shine which looks particularly good if it is embellished with diamonds or other stones.
The metals used, as we said above, to make the gold appear white can include zinc, nickel, or palladium. Nickel in white gold provides the strength needed for a durable setting that lasts. Only the colour is affected though, and white gold retains all the other properties of gold, including its weight and resistance to tarnishing.
Rose Gold
Rose gold is simply another mixture of gold which uses copper as its alloy. The copper colour comes through and makes the metal look much more pink than ‘normal’ gold. The gold content makes a rose gold ring equally as durable and precious as other coloured gold, and as heavy, which many people like. Rose gold is a gold-copper alloy widely used for specialized jewellery Rose gold, also known as pink gold and red gold, was popular in Russia at the beginning of the nineteenth century, and was also known as Russian gold, although this term is now obsolete.
Rose gold is often used in bi-coloured rings to offset the more traditional white or yellow gold. Rose gold jewellery is becoming more popular in the 21st century and is commonly used for wedding rings. Rose gold adds a touch of romance to your jewellery.
Platinum
Platinum, though officially classified as a precious metal in the late 18th century, has been found in Egyptian jewellery dating from 700 B.C. Its name comes from the Spanish word ‘Platina’ – little silver – the metal with which the platinum was initially confused. While panning for gold in New Granada, Spanish Conquistadors found the white nuggets to be a nuisance and considered them to be unripe gold.
Platinum has great durability in holding precious stones. It is 35 times rarer than gold. Also platinum is more dense than gold, so the same ring will weigh significantly more in platinum than in gold (and precious metals are priced by weight).
Platinum is becoming increasingly popular, it mixes well with gold and it is very hard and durable, representing eternal love, it is also inert, meaning that it, like gold, will never tarnish..
As a hypoallergenic metal, it is rarer than gold and often considered a symbol of prestige (i.e. “platinum” credit cards have greater privileges than “gold” cards).
Do you know what metal you want for your ring?
You can choose the perfect design for you in our Ring Collection
