Choosing Your Metal

Finding the right metal for you is a personal process and can be difficult as there are so many options out there. So I hope to share my knowledge with you and make the decision easier as well as more in formed. Firstly, choosing a fine metal such as silver, gold or platinum over plated metals is important because if you are commissioning a one of a kind piece, you don’t want it to tarnish and re-plate or worse, loose interest and discard it. At Found Treasure we only work with fine metals to ensure that your piece will last and only need to be re-polished to bring back it’s mirror like shine. This is a strong value of ours which we have held from the start as this reduces waste and also brings us joy knowing what we create will live on.

Skin Tone & Introduction to Fine Metals

Depending on your skin tone you may prefer to match with a cool or warm tone of metal. On the cool side, your options are silver, white gold and platinum which range from a light shimmering silver to a gun-metal like tone. With warm tones, your options are yellow gold and rose gold. Depending on the ct or purity that you choose, the shades range from a pinky-yellow with 9ct to a warmer shade of 14ct and strong golden tone with 18ct. If you want a richer shade again we would recommend 22ct but this tends to be quite rare and 24ct is pure gold.

So your main options for casual everyday pieces are silver on the cool spectrum and 9ct gold on the warm spectrum. The price difference between silver and gold is quite a jump as the value of these two metals is very different and the base cost to buy both of these are on two different levels. With silver, pure silver is mixed with copper to keep the silver strong for wearing although the copper in this combination oxodises over time creating a dark, almost black like colour when exposed to water. This can be removed by a jeweller or you can do this at home using biocabonate soda and warm water, see our FAQ’s for more details. For this reason along with showing wear easily it’s not recommend for bespoke pieces. With 9ct gold, this is 37.5% pure gold and a peachy colour as it contains a mixture of copper and other metals which makes it a great option for your first piece of gold jewellery. We have found the 9ct Gold Tidal Ring to be very popular with first time gold buyers!

Purity and Ct’s

Value and Pricing

The higher the percentage of gold, the higher the ct and the higher the price essentially. Jewellers recommend 18ct as it is not only a beautiful colour and metal to work with, it is the highest ct percentage available that still has great durability plus therefore the best inherent value overall. There is no denying that gold is an investment, it is a rare and expensive element from the earth, choosing to work with 18ct over 9ct or 14ct means that the value of your piece is increasing as the gold price increases due to the 75% purity. The price of gold fluctuates day by day, week by week so you can imagine that for a jeweller it is hard to keep up and therefore our margins can be higher or lower depending on the date or time quoted. The increase in price also affects our gold collection pieces as these are available online no matter the fluctuation. Therefore the price of these gold pieces are reviewed yearly to make sure they are inline with the price of gold at that time.

Wedding Bands: Which metal to choose?

Gold is the most classic choice for your wedding bands and 18ct is widely recommended by jewellers across the world. One way to decide is to check the jewellery you already have or if your engagement ring is a particular metal you will want to match this so that the colours match. You can do this by checking the stamps on your jewellery and speaking with your jeweller directly. Another way is to try on the different types and see what looks and feels right for you. You may fall in love with yellow gold but hadn’t considered it before or fall in love with white gold and always imagined you’d be a ‘silver person’. Having your rings made and designed around you allows you to have that one-on-one time with a jeweller that will help guide you through the options with ease. Budget can also be a big factor in this decision and each piece can be quoted for you with the full range of metals available.

Active Lifestyle

If you lead an active lifestyle, you may want a metal that is more durable, although fine jewellery will last if you look after it and care for it well. No matter if you work with your hands or are in the water a lot, if you think it may get damaged or lost, it’s best to leave it in a safe place during those activities.

White Gold

With a cool tone and a golden shimmer, white gold is a wonderful combination. The first time I saw it, I couldn’t believe I had written it off before or.. didn’t know enough about it. As you go up the ct’s the cool tone darkens slightly and the warmth of the gold shines through brighter. It’s common to rhodium plate white gold because of this interesting tone but so far all the clients I have made wedding bands and engagement rings with have opted out of plating which I have been really happy with. The plating coats the metal and makes it extremely shiny and almost a light, silver like colour. There is nothing wrong with this, it’s a matter of preference although personally I like that the up keep non-plated metals is minimal and enjoy seeing the metal itself. With plating you will need to send it either back to the place you bought it from and they will run this service for you, each year or every other year depending on the wear. 18ct white gold is recommended for wedding, engagement and special commissions, one of a kind styles that are made to be enjoyed for a lifetime and passed down through generations.

Platinum

Looking for a strong metal and don’t mind it being a bit heavier than usual? Platinum is your metal! Its dense structure is like no other metal that jewellers work with and we even use different tools when working with Platinum as it creates small filings not dust like gold. It can look gun-metal like in shade when given a matte finish and a silver like tone when polished. Sometimes just the settings can be created in Platinum and the band in gold to give a two toned effect. This metal is even more rare than gold and is priced accordingly, it’s similar to 18ct although slightly more due to the extra work and tools involved.

Conclusion

Choosing the right metal for you can be dependant on what the piece symbolises and means for you. If you are deciding on your wedding band and you don’t wear jewellery, try on some options to get an idea of how each metal looks on you and discuss which you like more and why. This is a band that you will be with you for a long time take the time to speak to a professional jewellery that can help guide you through the process to make sure you get what you’re after. Choosing a metal is a personal experience and designing a piece of jewellery is as well. If you would like to discuss your options, leave a note below and we will get back to you.

Thank you for reading and hope you have enjoyed!

Naomi x