Gold has been a popular, widely traded precious metal across all cultures since ancient times.
Gold is durable, long lasting, maintains it value, and has attracted much admiration throughout history. Furthermore, it has shaped history as nations expanded their territories to secure either the gold resources or the trade paths those territories offered. Gold is also a very high quality electrical conductor, and since it does not tarnish easily, so it is highly valued for industrial purposes as well.
GOLD ALLOY
Pure gold is the most malleable and ductile of all known metals, and is quite soft, making it very difficult to process into finely detailed jewelry. Therefore, jewelry manufacturers commonly mix, or alloy it with other metals, allowing for a wider range of molds and shapes. Though alloying does devalue the piece of jewelry in terms of the percentage of gold it’s comprised of, it makes a much harder and wear-resistant, and thus, superior piece of jewelry.
Read more about the physical properties of gold
GOLD TERMINOLOGY
Gold is graded in terms of karats (K). The most common divisions are 24K, 18K, 14K, 12K, and 10K. 24 karat gold is pure gold. Therefore, 18 karat gold contains 75% pure gold (18/24 = ¾ = .75= 75%) and 25% of other metal alloys. In the same way, 14 karat gold contains 58.3% pure gold, and 12 karat gold contains 50% of pure gold. The minimum gold content required by law to label the jewelry “gold jewelry” is 10 karats, 41.7% gold.
But just because a piece of jewelry is only 10 karat gold in no way means that it is low quality. In fact, as mentioned above, the harder metals which are used as alloys to combine with the gold make 10 karat gold a much more suitable metal for every use because of it’s durability and superior wear characteristics.
Other, lesser-valued types of gold jewelry include gold-plated jewelry. The base metal can be any number of materials plated with a thin layer of gold. This can cause problems with some people who have sensitivities to these other materials because when the thin outer layer of gold eventually wears off, the underlying metal is exposed and comes into contact with the person’s skin, causing a reaction.
ENTER VERMEIL JEWELRY
It is very uncommon for people to be sensitive to sterling silver. Sterling silver is 92.5% pure silver, again with 7.5% other metals alloyed with it to make it harder and more wear-resistant. Vermeil (pronounced: ver•may) jewelry is hand crafted in .925 sterling silver, plated with 24 karat gold. Should the gold eventually wear off, it would expose only the sterling silver layer beneath and not some other unknown composite.
Vermeil jewelry has gained popularity in recent years as many manufacturers are also offering their traditional gold jewelry designs in more affordable Vermeil versions because of the rising cost of gold.
BLACK HILLS GOLD JEWELRY
The term Black Hills Gold does not actually refer to the material of gold but rather a type of jewelry that originated in the Black Hills of South Dakota, born out of the mining camps during the last great American gold rush of the late 1800’s. Traditional Black Hills Gold jewelry typically consists of pink colored and green colored grape leaves and gold grapes and grapevines. Henri LeBeau, a French goldsmith, created the first designs of Black Hills Gold Jewelry, creating the pink gold and green gold by alloying pure gold with copper and silver, to achieve the respective colors.
Watch this informative and entertaining video about the History of Black Hills Gold on YouTube:
Those first Black Hills Gold designs grew in popularity and are now the property of Landstroms Black Hills Gold, the oldest manufacturer of Black Hills Gold jewelry. All Landstroms Black Hills Gold jewelry is made in America by skilled artisans the way it has been for over 100 years, by hand, and is guaranteed for life. Landstroms has been producing heirloom quality jewelry in a unique American art form for generations, and in a world that is looking for a return to quality, offers exquisite gift-buying opportunities for both men and the ladies. Black Hills Gold jewelry has long been revered in the west but more recently has gained wide-spread popularity as folks around the country, and even worldwide come to vacation in the Black Hills of South Dakota and learn of it’s tradition and quality.
Here’s an interesting article on various styles of Black Hills Gold Rings
BLACK HILLS GOLD WEDDING JEWELRY
Landstroms is the one, original Black Hills Gold jewelry manufacturer and their quality workmanship and beautiful designs have made a name across the country as well as beyond. That’s why Landstroms is the preferred choice of couples looking to purchase Black Hills Gold wedding rings. Landstrom’s beautiful, yet fashionable designs, combined with the highest quality workmanship ensure that their engagement ring and wedding bands, or wedding sets, last a lifetime.
Click here to have a look at the best gold and silver wedding rings made in the Black Hills
Though most Landstroms jewelry is made of 10 karat gold for the reasons previously mentioned in this article, classic Landstroms Black Hills Gold wedding jewelry is made from 14 karat gold in keeping with tradition. However, they also make a number of rings in 10 karat gold that also make splendid wedding bands.
BLACK HILLS GOLD MOTHERS JEWELRY
Another very fashionable jewelry item where Landstrom’s reputation for quality and tradition shines is Mother’s jewelry, a popular tradition in American culture. Mothers jewelry is a piece of jewelry, typically a ring or a pendant, that features the birthstone representing the birth month of a Mother’s child, or several birthstones for all her children. Landstroms carries a wide selection of Mothers birthstone rings and pendant-necklaces in both Black Hills Gold and Sterling Silver.
Follow this link to shop for Mothers pendants and necklaces
Their variety of Mothers rings and pendants includes your choice of from one up to twelve different birthstones such as garnet, emerald, ruby, topaz, sapphire, etc., as well as a diamond option. Each precious stone represents a specific month and you can arrange them in any sequence you want.
Browse around this webpage for a great selection of Mothers rings
BlackHillsGoldSource is proud to be an exclusive distributor of Landstroms Black Hills Gold jewelry. We believe and know that their jewelry is of highest quality and their designs stand out in creativity and contemporary fashion. Visit us and see our entire Landstroms jewelry product palette: http://www.BlackHillsGoldSource.com
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