Jewelry Reflections
All About Metals!
THE METALS used in jewelry are divided into two groups
– precious and base. The precious metals are silver, gold
and platinum; all other metals are considered base metals.
Metals can be either elements, for example iron, copper
or niobium, or alloys which are mixtures of elements.
Alloys can be a base metal like brass (copper and zinc) or
a precious metal like sterling silver (silver and copper).
Generally, alloys are created to improve the color,
workability or durability of metal.
The metals I use most are:
STERLING SILVER which is an alloy of 92.5% silver
and 7.5% copper and is often referred to as .925 silver.
The copper is added to make the silver stronger and more
durable without changing its color.
COPPER which is one of the oldest metals in use. I love
its warm color, either highly polished or with a dark patina.
Copper is easy to shape and a joy to work with.
BRASS which is an alloy of copper and zinc. I use red
brass (also known as jeweler’s brass) which is 85% copper
and 15% zinc. It has a color similar to 14kt gold.
BRONZE which is an alloy of 92% copper and 8% tin. Its
color is just a bit warmer than red brass. I just started using
bronze and am finding it a bit harder to work with than
copper or brass. However, I love the color.
GOLD fill which is made by bonding, using a combination
of heat and pressure, karat gold to abase metal usually
brass. By law, to be called gold-filled at least 20% of the
metal by weight must be karat gold and the karat weight of
the gold cannot be lower than 10kt. The gold-filled wire that
I use is 20% 12kt or 14kt gold bonded to red brass. Gold
filling is much more durable than gold plating.
Check out my new bronze creations at shows
on May 7 and 8 (Courthouse Square) and
May 14 (Faith United Community Church).
Hope to see you there.
—Lynn Schmitt, [email protected]
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pccnews
May 2016
7