SOC Pearls and Rubies!

I like vermeil, I use Thai Karen silver plated with 24k gold, I had these findings for 10 years now and they look the same, shiny and new. Whereas the gold filled wire and headpins had oxidised, I suppose I can polish them.
 
Good to know kelluvpearl-- I had only heard of 18K vermeil previously.

True that 14K gold filled can get a bit of tarnish with time if not worn much, or if stored with silver. I use a Sunshine cloth and it comes right off.
 
There is sometimes another problem with vermeil (gold covered silver through electrolysis). I can wear through to the silver in a few weeks. There seems to be a factor with the acidity or your skin or sweat. In any case, I never buy vermeil if I can help it as the silver will soon show clearly.

- Karin
 
Thank you, everyone, this has been incredibly informative. What about ionic plating common in gold watches? It claims to be "permanent" plating and can even be scratched without damage. I have several watches plated in rose gold, gold, and black (don't know what the plating metal is) that have this sort of plating over stainless steel. One watch I wear almost daily, for at least a few hours, and the plating is just as perfect as the day I purchased. I wonder if there are also applications in jewelry (I've only seen ionic plating done with watches.)
 
Great resource, Pearl Dreams! Yes, the cuff links were just plated. I have pendants that a vendor called vermeil and the gold disappeared without being worn within a couple of years. You can still see some on the ridges. The thing is, it was obvious that they were flash plated - not even near standard plating. I knew it, but they were a cheapo show special.

I have no idea how they protect the finish of watches. Lacquer? :)
 
This is interesting, maybe it does depends on the process use. I just went back to the website where I bought the findings from, and they mentioned they use the same process used on watches and 3 microns of gold.
I have clasps and earring clips from other sources but not as old, will report back in a few years and see if the gold layer hold up. :D
 
Pearl Dreams said:
Good to know kelluvpearl-- I had only heard of 18K vermeil previously.

True that 14K gold filled can get a bit of tarnish with time if not worn much, or if stored with silver. I use a Sunshine cloth and it comes right off.
Click to expand...

Thanks for the info PearlDreams!
 
Just to be safe, I'm having my SoC mabe pearls set in 18 kt yellow gold. :cool:
 
Hi lovely pearls..
I hope this isn't taboo, but I wanted to chime in on the gold filled debate. Thank you for all the wonderful information that was posted. (and of course for the share of the link)
First : this is an excerpt from the Rio Grande website about what gold filled is :
"Gold-filled, or gold overlay, is made by heat- and pressure-bonding a thin layer of karat gold to a brass (or other base metal) core. The "14/20" or "12/10" notation refers to the industry shorthand describing the resulting material. The first number is the karat purity of the gold used; the second number is the amount, by weight, of gold to the substrate material. "14/20" gold-filled material is made with 14-karat gold and the gold represents 1/20th (or 5%) of the total weight of the material. You may occasionally see other notations, too; each will inform you about the material's make-up. For example, "14/40" gold-filled is composed of 14-karat gold that represents 1/40th (or 2.5%) of the overall weight of the material.

? Karat gold covers the brass surface, making it tarnish-resistant.
? The value of gold-filled is greater than gold-plated because gold-filled has an actual layer of karat gold, not just a microscopic film.
? All of Rio?s gold-filled products meet federal quality standards.
? Gold-filled jewelry is economical. Your customers enjoy the warm tones of gold at a fraction of the cost of pure gold."

and second :
Why we decided to work with gold filled for these Sea of Cortez earrings and many other new pieces.
A few months ago Mounir and I took a day and went to the lovely little village of Point Reyes, we happened upon a jewelry store with a great selection of hand made chain and other simple metal designs. The owner was a gentle man who had a vast workshop in back and was a delight to talk to. Being in the jewelry business I am VERY rarely tempted to buy jewelry in jewelry stores.. but I really liked this guy and his sweet shop. I chose a simple gold filled bracelet ($135) .. he had the same design in solid 14K yellow gold ($750). I was also interested to see how this gold filled metal would stand up with constant wear. I wore the bracelet with out taking it off for three months. It warmed a slight bit in color, but I got many many compliments on it and I was really pleased with the way it looked before and after my "test". Mind you, up to this point I had only used gold filled for wire wrapping because I trusted it to keep it's color better than vermeil. It was my first experience with wearing gold filled jewelry against the skin.
It was actually funny to find this thread to tonight because I was planning to write this explanation on our blog.. but alas Pearl-Guide has once again beat me to it! :)
We decided to do a little line in gold filled because : A. I was so pleased with the way it wore , and B. There is enough of a price difference that it opens up one of a kind custom to work to a broader market of pearl connoisseurs!
I realize it is not for everyone, but that's part of the fun!
(and yes we bought this gold filled from rio grande)
With warmth, Sarah
 
Great explanation, Sarah! As one whose body chemistry vaporizes gold plating on even supposedly good-quality vermeil, the information you have shared may entice me to wear and purchase (and perhaps work with) gold filled metal. Nice to know what those cryptic numbers mean.
 
I've bought quite a bit of Vermeil from Sven at Eastern Trade Winds over the years..as I recall (Sven correct me if I'm wrong) it was all 24kt gold Vermeil with 3 microns of gold plating. Now I often use this material when they are beads that don't incur a lot of contact or rubbing .. and they look as good now as they did several years ago. Personally I wouldn't use Vermeil if it were going to rub on skin or against rough beads or frosted beads as I'd worry about it scratching.

The Gold Filled is a great option as Sarah so perfectly explained...it looks good..it's heaps cheaper and it holds up for years. If I was using very expensive pearls I'd use Gold .. but on more medium priced items I offer a choice...makes a huge difference in price... but the look is very close. The tricky part is if it needs to be soldered .. the join can go a bit brownish.. I think you need to be pretty handy with a torch and not keep the heat on too long.
 
I learned so much from this thread! Thanks to everyone who posted on the different ways gold is used in settings. And Red - when do you think you'll get your mabes set?
 
pkinnew said:
I learned so much from this thread! Thanks to everyone who posted on the different ways gold is used in settings. And Red - when do you think you'll get your mabes set?
Click to expand...

pkinnew - My SoC mabes are being set now. They will be ready mid-March.
 
A most useful discussion, Everyone, and Sarah, thanks for directing us to Rio Grande's info, too. Certainly seems there are many more findings/supply sellers now, so purchasing gold fill and vermeil from a reputable, trustworthy source such as Rio is more important than ever. They have the ability to assay and make certain the materials they sell meet requirements.

Personally, I love 18K gold with pearls, and wish it were possible to always use that combination! Oh the Mohs scale of hardness (ability to be scratched), 14K gold and pearls are about the same, 3-4, and 18K gold is 2.75, so slightly softer than pearl. You all probably know diamond is 10. :)

So glad to see more Sea of Cortez pearls available, and looking forward to seeing yours, Red!

p.s. I completely love 14k gold filled, and now we are seeing more 14k rose gold filled!
 
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La Corsetiere:
Yes it is one of those magical mysteries, how some people will tarnish silver immediately, some others will instantly stop a wrist watch, etc. etc. I kind of love that actually. It is a lovely little unexplainable quirk of humans.
Katbran : yes Mounir found it really tricky to solder at first. We originally bought solder filled gold filled wire, hoping that would do the trick.. but it turned out to be a mess.. for us at least . That was the first time I had heard of solder filled wire. (but I am not a bench jeweler.. much too impatient) I don't imagine that any of our designs will be worn daily or even vigorously by anyone, we do make them to last of course.
Pattye : I too would prefer solid gold any day! ... but I want to make jewelry NOW :) ha ha ha
I saw the rose gold filled for sale also... but I decided to keep it to one crazy idea at a time. Looking forward to playing with that in the future.
Hope to see you in Tucson!?
 
Pattye : I too would prefer solid gold any day! ... but I want to make jewelry NOW ha ha ha
I saw the rose gold filled for sale also... but I decided to keep it to one crazy idea at a time. Looking forward to playing with that in the future.
Hope to see you in Tucson!?
Click to expand...

Sarah, Not going this year, unfortunately, but perhaps next! I hope you all have a terrific show and great visit with the other P-Gers!
 
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