Swirsky Designs

An elemental metal common in lightweight chainmaille jewelery

A non precious metal used as an inexpensive jewelery material.  It is often plated or used as a core for filled materials.  It is almost never labelled and is considered a high level allergin.  Commonly made up of white metals, this catagory also includes brass, copper and others.

A very yellow/brown metal used extensively as a gold stand in.  Made up of copper and zinc.

A very hard and heavy copper based alloy used for decorative additions and heavy armor. 

An elemental pure metal often said to have healing effects especially regaurding arthritis pain.  It is often used as an alloy for other metals when a redish hue is required.  Copper tends to turn black or green fairly quickly, but can be quickly cleaned up in a glass of lemon juice and water.  Many people find their skin reacts to copper by changing colour but few respond with other allergic reactions.

If an item is gold or silver filled that means that it has a base metal core and it surrounded by a layer of gold or silver thicker than standard plating.  For gold filled the outer layer must meet minimum gold standards (in North America 10 karat, in Europe and Asia 14 karat) and must be 10% the finished piece by weight.  Often marked 1/20.

Gold comes in a variety of colours and strengths including 14 karat yellow and white- far and away the most common presentations.  Commonly thought to be tarnish resistant and hypoallergenic, depending on the metals with which the pure gold is mixed, often neither of these "facts" is true.   It is considered a jewelers grade material for less expensive pieces.  It is generally as allergy safe as the equivalent karat gold.

Although most people assume all gold must legally be marked with its karat status, the truth is that unmarked gold is legal.  What is problematic is to mark gold without having a proper makers mark next to it.  Many small jewelers thus leave their work unstamped.

For lots more information about gold please visit the "All About Gold" page.

Nickel is a non precious grey/white metal that is considered a very high allergen.  It is often used in alloys for white gold.  It is very common in low end fashion jewelery.  Nickle alloys include misleading names such as "German silver", "Chinese silver" and "Colarado silver".

Niobium is one of the newest metals on the jewelery scene.  With many of the same characteristics as titanium, this almost completely hypoallergenic metal is a great deal easier to work.  Like titanium it must be made in shape or manipulated using cold techniques as it can not be soldered.  Like titanium, niobium can take on gorgeous colours when anodized (run through an electric current as various levels).

A platinum group metal that is often used as a white metal alloy for very high end gold and platinum jewelery.

A metal made of lead and tin.  A safer but similar product made without lead is now common under the name Britannia.

A very thin layer of precious metal fused onto a base metal to make it look like the whole piece is made of precious metal.  Generally very quick to wear off.  If not well done it can flake off in large pieces.

Platinum is a very tough metal that will retain it shine and luster regardless of how it is treated.  If you are looking for a metal that will look as good 100 years from now as thy day you bought it, this is your metal.  It is perfect as a setting for diamonds and other precious stones as it's white colours sets them off beautifully and its sturdiness keeps them secure.  The very high melting point means that it can only be worked with specialized tools and safety equipment.

It is considered a very hypoallergenic metal.

A platinum group metal commonly used as a plating on white gold or sterling silver to give it a gleaming, platinum-like finish.

Rolled gold is similar to gold filled with a lower minimum weight percentage.  Often marked 1/40.

Stainless steel was the first of the medical grade metals to really start to make it in the jewelery world.  Its durability and hypoallergenic nature, as well as it's reasonable price make stainless steel a good fit for sturdy but less expensive jewelery.  Because it can only be worked at extreme temperatures it is not a common material for independent jewelery artists.

The most common form of silver is sterling silver which is made up of 92.5% pure silver and 7.5% copper.  Because of th copper content sterling silver can be an allergen and is also fairly quick to tarnish.  A new form of silver is argentium silver which replaces the copper in sterling silver with germanium.  This makes it much more tarnish resistant and easier to wear for people with copper sensitivities.  

Other forms of silver include fine silver (.999% pure) which, although much more resistant to tarnish is too soft for many applications.  It is common in textile techniques like crocheting and weaving because of it's softer nature.

There are a number of other forms of silver including coin, Thai Hill Tribe, Bali and even dental amalgam which all contain varying amounts of pure silver and various other metals.

Titanium is a relatively new metal on the jewelery scene and is valued for both it's almost completely hypoallergenic tendency and for the ability to colour it using heat or an electric current.  It is also strong and lightweight making it a wonderful metal to use for childrens' or athletes' jewelery.  Titanium's high levels of spring-back make it a difficult metal to work with.  It must be cast in shape or manipulated cold and cannot be soldered.

White metal is the name given to metal composites that contain no precious metal but are found in common use.  These are very common in inexpensive jeweley but buyer beware- many of these mixes contain lead in much larger quantities than should be considered safe.