Dipping or flashing white gold

jodiegearingMetal Knowledge, Rhodium plating2 Comments

When looking at white gold jewellery in a high street jewellers, the sales assistants will often talk about having it ‘dipped’. Another term sometimes used is ‘rhodium flashing’. Both of these terms conjure images of simple and almost magical processes involving either vats of liquid metal or zapping the piece of jewellery with a special rhodium gun! I don’t blame the sales … Read More

Rhodium Plating Yellow Gold

jodiegearingMetal Knowledge, Rhodium plating2 Comments

Although yellow and rose gold have seen a real resurgence in recent years, I am still finding that majority of the clients I work with are looking for white metal in their commissioned pieces. When it comes to inheriting jewellery, a lot of classic designs were made in yellow gold (perhaps with Platinum settings or design details) which sometimes does … Read More

What does Carat or Karat mean?

jodiegearingAdvice, Metal Knowledge, Stone KnowledgeLeave a Comment

Carat in jewellery can either refer to the weight of a gemstone, or the fineness of gold. Confusingly, in the UK, we use the same spelling for both. In the US, K (or K, Karat) is more commonly used when describing gold fineness and ct (carat) is used when discussing the weight of a gemstone. Why carat? Both in gemstone … Read More