With its beautiful color and unique versatility, it's no wonder gold has been a valued jewelry metal for centuries. Pure gold is too soft to be used for jewelry so it is combined with other metals to increase its strength. Depending on the metal, the color of pure gold can change to white, pink and even green. The standard measurement of gold is the Karat. Gold Marks

Minimum Gold Content
To be called gold, there are minimum gold content. It varies by where you are, but in United States, item must be at least 10 K and in England and Canada 9 K and in Italy and France 18 K Many Colors of Gold

What causes skin discoloration with some gold jewelry?
Pure gold does not change in color or tarnish and it won't discolor the skin. But when alloy is used to mix with gold, the gold can change and oxidize. Also human's fat or acids in perspiration can start this change in gold. It usually gets worse in warm and damp areas where lots of salt is in the air. Sometimes, woman's makeup can start the problem.

How to solve discoloration in gold?

1. Make a habit of removing jewelry often and cleaning the skin and jewelry.
2. Use soft cloth to wipe and clean jewelry to remove tarnish.
3. Try to switch to higher gold content jewelry. When you have discoloration gold problem in 14k gold, try to switch it to 18k gold.

What is gold coatings?
Jewelry or item less than solid 14k is considered as costume jewelry. Anything less than 10k is definitely is costume jewelry. Also you may run into term such as gold plated or vermeil jewelry. Vermeil jewelry comes into two part. When it's vintage or antique jewelry and if its from abroad, vermeil means gold coated on bronze, brass, copper or other cheaper material.

Here is the simple figure for you to understand difference between types of gold.
When gold filled is concerned, it means 1/20th of the total weight of the piece or more. So in a sense, gold filled is better than gold plated jewelry. Gold plated jewelry is consisted of 100 millionth of an inch is chemically electronically plated. If your jewelry is "gold-flashed" or "gold-washed" means it's plating is thinner than 7 millionths of an inch.

Platinum has become an extremely popular jewelry metal, especially for rings. Its natural white color is a beautiful complement to diamonds, while its rarity also makes it highly valued. Compared to gold, platinum is five times as rare and weighs much more. It is also tarnish-resistant and hypoallergenic. Platinum is a white metal, but unlike gold it is used in jewelry in almost its pure form (approximately 95% pure). Platinum is extremely long wearing and is very white, so it does not need to be rhodium plated like white gold does. Platinum is very dense and heavy metal, so a platinum ring will feel heavier than an 18kt gold ring.

Platinum is, however, significantly more expensive than gold. With all other things being the same, a platinum ring will be approximately twice the price of an 18kt white gold ring. Platinum is a prestige choice and is often chosen for its sophisticated appeal and popularity amongst the rich and famous. Platinum is normally not used in the full range of jewelry products due to its higher price. Platinum is mainly used in men's and ladies engagement rings, ladies wedding rings and men's wedding rings. Platinum can also be used to make dress rings, though it is not commonly used to make earrings, pendants, bracelets or necklaces.

The history of palladium begins with the discovery of its sister metal platinum. The noble metals, which are commonly found together, have a shared beginning that is highlighted by challenges to their widespread use. That is, until modern science and metallurgy unlocked some of the valuable characteristics each offers and has proven platinum and palladium as essential to 21st century commerce.

Palladium alloys for jewelry manufacturing usually contain 95% palladium and 5% other metals. Specific jewelry manufacturing methods like casting, machining, chain making, hand fabricating or other processes sometimes call for differing alloy ingredients. Of the popular alloys currently being used in the U.S. for palladium jewelry the common balance consists of 95% palladium, nearly 5% ruthenium. The inclusion of specific trace elements offer various benefits to the design and manufacturing process (e.g. hardness, better fluidity for casting, ease in machining) or lend to better wear of the finished jewelry.

Why Choose a Palladium Ring over a White Gold Ring?
Palladium (atomic symbol Pd) is a platinum group metal (PGM). It is the lightest (least dense) and has the lowest melting point of the group. Palladium is naturally white, not requiring rhodium plating for use with jewelry. It is malleable and ductile in its pure form, but too soft for jewelry unless alloyed. As an alloy containing 950 parts of palladium for jewelry purposes, it is more "pure" than white gold alloys, but the additional elements make it harder and more durable in the as cast condition. Its hardness significantly increases as it is cold worked making it ideal for jewelry and palladium wears similarly to platinum. Palladium resists oxidation at ordinary temperatures but will discolor at soldering temperatures, become brittle with careless, excessive and repeated heating and cooling cycles, and react with strong acids. One of its characteristics that cause it to be sensitive to certain jewelry manufacturing procedures is its ability to absorb considerable amounts of hydrogen and other gases especially when molten