Gold Rings

Gold rings have been worn by men, women and children for centuries and in many cultures. Being a rare and highly valued metal, in ancient times, gold was often buried with the dead and believed to travel into the afterlife with the owner. A lot has been unearthed during archaeological digs to confirm it’s use in many countries around the world.

Of course, it is still used today and has a long lasting quality which is hard to beat. As pure gold is a soft metal it is frequently mixed with other metals to improve it’s durability. These alloys are graded in Karats with 24K being the most pure. For most jewellery, karat ratings of 22, 18, 14 or 10 are used. In parts of Europe 9 Karat gold is also common and utilized for it’s hard wearing properties.

Copper, Silver, Nickel and Palladium are among the base metals used to produce the gold alloy which can vary in colour considerably. Palladium or Nickel are used to produce white gold which is popular for many wedding bands. The former is the preferred choice and is always more expensive due to the toxic properties of Nickel and European regulations.

The distinctive colour of rose gold is achieved by using a larger percentage of copper in the resulting alloy which continues to be well sought after.