The appeal of gold is undeniable. It's warm and buttery and sparkles so beautifully. I didn't understand it until I had a gold ring on my own finger - then I couldn't stop staring at it. And taking pictures of it. And showing it to just about everyone I know.
However, with the price of gold hovering around $2,000/ounce it's really difficult to make everything in gold. Luckily, we have three options:
1) Gold Plating and Gold Vermeil
Gold-plating and vermeil are the most inexpensive options for getting a gold finish. Both plating and vermeil start with a base metal and a gold layer is added on via electroplating. The plating process uses chemicals that are toxic and dangerous for people and the environment. In addition, it's often a temporary way to get a shine. The plating is very thin and will wear off with time - especially on rings.
The biggest differences between vermeil and plating are in quality. Vermeil starts with a base of sterling silver and plating starts with any base metal - usually bronze or brass. In addition, plating is often just a few microns thin and vermeil is about 250 microns. Vermeil is a lot thicker, more regulated, and of higher quality, but there's still no guarantee that it won't wear off.
Because of the toxic chemicals used (and dumped back into the Earth) and the risk of the plating wearing off, I don't like wearing gold-plated or gold vermeil pieces. Therefore, I don't feel comfortable offering them to my customers.
2) Gold-Fill
Gold-fill is the next option. It consists of a core of jewelers brass and is coated with a thick layer of gold. With gold-fill, the gold will not wear off with extended wear. However, gold-fill is very tricky to solder and if it's overheated, the gold and brass will melt together and turn pink. Most jewelers won't even solder gold-fill because of how temperamental it is. Even if the soldering job is clean, gold-fill tends to discolor over the years- it can be polished with a polishing cloth though.
I offer a few items in gold-fill because I know how lovely that yellow shine is. I am willing to make other designs of mine in gold-fill - but if I'm not able to make it without discoloration, I will refund you.
3) Gold
The third and best option is using a gold alloy. Pure 24k gold is too soft to work with reliably so it's mixed with other metals - usually silver - to strengthen it. That's how you end up with 10k, 14k, 18k, etc.. I love working with gold proper. It's warm and buttery and solders so well. Its beauty is difficult to overstate and it's easy to understand why it's been so valuable for thousands of years. But it's almost TWO THOUSAND DOLLARS an ounce right now. That's not feasible for most budgets and It's definitely not something I can keep in stock constantly.
That being said, the beauty of hand-making all of my own pieces is that I can make it however I want to. If you want to customize an existing piece in a gold alloy or gold-fill, send me an email at Hello@hamaila.com and we can get started on that process.
2 comments
Are you searching for a real spell caster ?
It is amazing how quickly Dr. Excellent brought my husband back to me.
My name is Heather Delaney. I married the love of my life Riley on 10/02/15 and we now have two beautiful girls Abby & Erin, who are conjoined twins, that were born 07/24/16. My husband left me and moved to be with another woman. I felt my life was over and my kids thought they would never see their father again. I tried to be strong just for the kids but I could not control the pains that tormented my heart, my heart was filled with sorrows and pains because I was really in love with my husband. I have tried many options but he did not come back, until i met a friend that directed me to Dr. Excellent a spell caster, who helped me to bring back my husband after 11hours. Me and my husband are living happily together again, This man is powerful, contact Dr. Excellent if you are passing through any difficulty in life or having troubles in your marriage or relationship, he is capable of making things right for you. Don’t miss out on the opportunity to work with the best spell caster.
Here his contact. Call/WhatsApp him at: +2348084273514 "
Or email him at: Excellentspellcaster@gmail.com ,
For more information visit his website:https://drexcellentspellcaster.godaddysites.com
It’s A Great News to Celebrate with you Viewer, I am truly living the life I have been looking for after Dr Kachi made me win my Powerball Lottery, I had been playing for a good 8years. It was a friend of mine who directed me to Dr Kachi because my friend Nancy has won the Powerball so many times and I don’t know how she got the match six numbers to play and win a very big amount of money, then the last time she won the Mega Millions I told her to tell me the secret on how she win. That’s when she started telling me about the powerful Dr Kachi who has been her helper. and she gave me Dr Kachi Text/Call Number:+1 (209) 675-7342 I texted the greatest spell caster Dr Kachi and I told him I wanted to win my Powerball with his spiritual rightful number and he told me I should give him 2hours to get everything done and hopefully Dr Kachi do it, and give me a winning numbers to play my ticket that make me win the prize of $223.3 Million Dollars Powerball lottery Tuesday i bought the winning ticket at the Carlie C’s IGA store in Hope Mills, that changed my life for good today, and Dr Kachi a strong spell caster and trust him when he says the results will manifest it’s Truth, God bless you Dr kachi for your kind help also can Email: drkachispellcast@gmail.com or website: https://drkachispellcaster.wixsite.com/my-site