With the price of gold soaring, jewelry artists are going to need to be not only creative in their art but in the metal settings and findings that they use. Unless they are thinking about using gold foil stickers for rings, (I got the idea from a small child), jewelers need to rethink affordability. Mainstream buyers were stretching their budgets at $200 at ounce gold to purchase pieces. Gold is now priced between $1100 and $1400 an ounce.
Silver has also risen in price. Although customers and designers of jewelry are uncomfortable with rising prices, silver is definitely affordable. Silver is recognized in the precious metals category along with platinum and gold. Whereas gold cannot be pure to use in jewelry because of its pliability and affordability, sterling silver is 92% pure. Silver also requires less heat to size rings or to solder. Silver is a good second choice unless the customer does not like white metal or has allergies to its alloys.
There are other materials to enhance gemstones that craftspeople can use and customers can afford as long as the seller is honest about the metal content. The discussion of deception is coming up in my next blog. Gold plated and gold filled certainly are attractive alternatives to 14K gold. Sizing becomes an issue because additional work needs to be done to maintain color after an adjustment is made. In any case, the glitter remains as well as the affordability. I will also discuss the difference between plated and filled soon.
In the past, hobbyists set their jasper, picture rock and other interesting "rock jewelry" in base metal findings to lower the cost of manufacturing. Jade, amethyst and other cabochons were also set in base metal. The same dies that stamped out gold, silver, gold-filled, etc. jewelry settings and findings are used for base metal settings. Please comment on whether you feel that it is appropriate in today's precious metal markets to use these base metal findings with gemstoness. I will post your responses.
You are always welcome at www.richardhetzel.com.
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