Martin & Dörte Planert
Fine Jewellery & Designers
Goldsmith & Diamondsetter
Fellow
of the Gold & Silversmiths Guild of Australia 
ph +61-2-64944787
Diamond
information • Pearl Information • Opal Information
•
More
facts about gold • Handcrafted Quality-Custom
Design •
Palladium
White Gold Alloy • A Brief History of Wedding Rings
•
How to judge the Quality of Jewellery • How to clean jewellery
Materials
we use - Facts about Gold
Jewellery is a very personal
expression of your taste and style. It can give pleasure for lifetime and have
sentimental value that keeps wonderful memories alive.
Throughout history, precious metals
have been highly valued and sought after. Precious metals are extremely durable,
because they are highly resistant to attack from the environment. Pure metals
are elements and cannot be separated or purified further. In turn, an alloy is a
mixture or combination formed by the fusion of two or more metals. Native metals
are rarely pure, but are usually found in natural alloys with other metals. 
G O L D
Native gold is generally found as gold dust or mined with other minerals, rarely
as nuggets but mostly combined with
varying proportions of silver in about 22ct (ct is not the same as gem carat).
It is yellow by nature. After refining into fine gold it has 24ct or
contains 999 parts pure gold per thousand. Gold has
been used in jewellery for over 7000 years. Even today, approximately 80 percent
of the world’s output of gold is used in jewellery.
18ct gold
contains 750 parts per thousand (75%) fine gold. For handmade 18ct jewellery
items we alloy the gold ourselves and
use for the remaining 250 parts fine silver and fine copper (Palladium for White
Gold). The higher the copper content within the 250 parts, the redder
the gold will be as in pink or rose gold. 18ct yellow gold is stamped 750 =
Hallmark. It is acid
resistant and doesn't tarnish. Its melting point lies at 895°C.
9ct gold
contains only 375 parts per thousand (38%) fine gold; the rest is a mixture of
copper, silver and zinc. 9ct gold is paler and tarnishes easier because of the high copper
and zinc content and corrodes after a while (e.g. chains brake easily). To
achieve a nice gold colour, it has to be gold-plated. That is a poisonous,
galvanic procedure and harmful to the environment (contains cyanide).
The myth of 9ct gold being harder than
18ct originated from a mix-up of firmness, density, pliability, resistance & malleability (literally meaning “hammer ability”).
“Brinell Hardness” of 18ct: 187 HB, of
9ct: 140 HB is measured by hammering an object into the material and measuring
the resistance.
9ct jewellery wears quicker. We only
can admire antique jewellery nowadays because it was manufactured in 18ct gold.
In conclusion: 18ct is definitely the
best quality. It is also denser and has got a higher specific gravity, therefore is heavier than the same jewellery item
in 14ct or lower. If you can afford it, you would not only have the better gold,
but also more of it and can pass it on as heirloom. Please note that the prices of precious metals are very volatile and may change at any time.
Palladium White Gold Alloy
recommended for following reasons
Nickel white gold can tarnish and has
to be rhodium-plated to achieve a nice white colour. Rhodium-plating wears off
over the years. Because Nickel allergies are on the increase we use a palladium
based white gold instead, in the purity of 750 (18ct) & 585 (14ct) parts fine
gold per thousand or pure Palladium 950. Palladium is an expensive heavy metal
of the platinum group with many advantages including being acid resistant,
highly polish-able, very ductile (pliable) and it does not tarnish. There is no
need for rhodium plating, therefore no pollution of the environment and no
health risk for the manufacturing jeweller. Palladium based White Gold is denser
and heavier. It is more difficult to process as the melting temperatures are
substantially higher, at 1480°C. Therefore jewellery in palladium white gold is
more expensive than identical pieces in nickel
white
gold.
Handcrafted Quality-Custom
Design
Handmade means: each Jewellery item is individually manufactured to custom
designs. Many different techniques are used, e.g.: rolling sheet metal, drawing
wires, embossing, filing, hammering, sawing etc. Because of handling, the
molecules
are pushed very close together which results in a solid material or extended
length e.g. A Sterling Silver rod of 8cm straight from the ingot, 5mm thick,
weighing 14g can be rolled through a rolling mill and drawn through a
drawplate, resulting in a 215cm long wire of 0.9mm thickness.
We use conflict-free diamonds Russian cut from an Australian Supplier,
Australian Opal directly from the miner and only cardboard boxes for packaging (no plastic).
More interesting facts about gold
Already in the 7th century BC in antique Rome gold
wire has been used to fasten third teeth. To fill teeth gold got recommended for
the first time in the 16th century.
The first documented gold discovery dates back to
1799 in North Carolina USA. The lump of gold weighed 3.2kg and was used for
three years as doorstep until a jeweller recognized the precious piece and
bought it for 3.50 dollars.
The Aztecs name for gold was "Teocuitlatl", which
means translated: "excrement of the gods"
Australian scientists discovered micro-organisms,
which obviously feed on gold. The mining industry is making use of this: The
microbes collect traces of gold from the rocks and concentrate them to bigger
nuggets.
The Asteroid Eros contains more gold than ever has
been mined from the Earth.
20% of the world's jewellery gold has been woven
into Indian Saris - a women's garment.
Gold has always been treasured by mankind and
therefore recycled for thousands of years. 85% of all the gold ever mined in the
world is still in use.
The visor of astronaut's helmets is covered with a
thin layer of gold to protect the eyes of the astronauts from sun's radiation.
It is estimated that approximately 10 billion
tons of gold is dissolved in the oceans.
Rheumatoid arthritis has been treated for decades
with injections of gold solution. Why the metal has an anti-inflammatory effect
is still not clear to medical professionals.
Birthstones,
Zodiac or Astrological Stones & Anniversary Stones
For information on precious gemstones
please refer to the International Colored Gemstone Association ICA:
www.gemstone.org
Gemstone Healing Guide:
http://www.freespiritemporium.com/guide.html
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