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Metals and finishes
What the words on the label actually mean, from sterling to vermeil, and how each metal and finish wears over time.
- 7Guides in Metals and finishes
- 37In the library
- Choosing a finish: silver tone or goldColour and texture are the two choices that shape how a piece looks on day one, and on day three hundred. Here is how to choose.
- How strong is each metal?A diamond pyramid, a dent and a number: how jewellery metals compare for hardness, and why the same metal can be soft or hard.
- Stainless steel vs sterling silverTwo white metals that look alike on a jeweller's tray and behave very differently once you wear them.
- Vermeil vs gold plated vs solid goldThree pieces can look exactly the same gold. Here is what separates them, from the metal underneath to the hallmark and the wear.
- What 925 meansThree small numbers on the inside of a ring: what 925 promises, where it came from, and what it can't tell you.
- What is gold vermeil?Silver underneath, gold on top: what vermeil means, where it came from, and why Britain and America disagree about how thick the gold should be.
- What rhodium plating isThe bright white finish on most white gold is a few tenths of a micron of rhodium. What it is, why it's there, and what happens as it wears.
- All 37 guidesEight topics, from sizing to how a piece is made