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How We Use Metals In Our Jewelry
We use various terms to describe our metals and our plating finishes. Our metals are nickel-free. Hand-polished means the stones or metals are polished by me personally. I prefer gold above all other metals and 24 karat is the purest and most beautiful form of gold. It is a soft metal, so plating it over a stronger metal makes it more durable. Vermeil (vair-MAY) is heavy gold plating over sterling silver (.925 pure silver), but I also use vermeil to describe heavy gold plating over Hill tribe silver (.999 pure silver) from Thailand. In my descriptions, 24K gp (gold plate) means a heavy plating of 24 karat gold.
Before
After
My Gold Plating Is Forever!
Double-plating means the jewelry item was originally gold-plated or was already 12K, 14K, or 18K gold and I plated it again with another heavy layer of 24K gold.
I use sterling and Hill tribe silver in my jewelry, along with small beads and ornaments of silver alloys, usually made in Africa, Nepal, or Tibet. And I use some very small beads and earring backs that are rhodium plated. Rhodium is the rarest precious metal, often more costly than platinum. It has a durable shiny finish that doesn’t need polishing and is hypo-allergenic.
Customizing Your Jewelry
I can make extenders to lengthen many of my necklaces. Some metal cuff bracelets can be squeezed smaller or larger with great caution. Sometimes we can add removable padding to wide cuff bracelets so they fit more snugly and don’t slide around the wrist. At present we do not adapt pierced earrings to clip-backs, but we expect to offer it in future.
I am available 24/7 for repairs to my own designs.
770-451-7700 or kathyspetz@yahoo.com
The Chemicals That Keep Your Skin Young Will Make Your Jewelry Old!
Keep your face and hands moisturized, but not your jewelry. The chemicals in modern skin care can ruin pearls, stones, and metals. As soon as you remove your jewelry, wipe it off with a towel or T-shirt – especially the surfaces of the jewelry that touch your skin. Wipe it while it is still warm to remove lotions and perspiration easily. Don’t wait until the jewelry cools and the lotions harden. Jewelry will look new and glistening for years if you’ll wipe it after every wearing.
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