Gold:
Gold is a metal that has several intriguing characteristics including its brilliant luster and its relatively easy ability to be shaped. These two qualities probably lead to its prolific use in jewelry throughout history. Currently, gold is used for all varieties of jewelry and it comes in a variety of different forms.

Because pure gold is far too malleable to sustain everyday use, gold is mixed with other metals to form an alloy. Depending on the proportions of other metal used, the finished gold has different qualities. Some of the other metals used in these alloys include silver, copper, zinc, and nickel. The relative amount of silver in the gold alloy determines the end color. For example white gold has a composition of 70% or more silver.

The gold content in gold alloy is measured in karats (K) (not to be confused with "carats" which are a unit of weight used in diamond grading.) Karats range from 1 to 24, with the higher numbers representing proportionally more gold content. Typically, the larger the number of Karats, the more valuable the gold is.

When purchasing a piece of gold jewelry you should be aware that the price will be determined not only by the karatage, but also by the quality of the craftsmanship and design of the piece. Every piece of jewelry should be stamped with the karatage (24K, 18K, 14K, etc.) It is illegal to sell anything less than 10K as gold in the United States.

Palladium:
Palladium is a wonderful metal that makes a great affordable alternative to Platinum and is actually not new to the jewelry world. Palladium was used in jewelry fabrications more then sixty years ago. Palladium is in the same family of elements of the periodic table as Platinum. The group includes the fallowing elements: Ruthenium, Rhodium, Osmium, Iridium, Platinum and lastly Palladium. William Hyde Wollastone identified the metal in 1803. Wollastone named that element after Pallas, the Panion of Athene, the Greek Goddess of Art. Because Palladium is in the Platinum group of metals it shares many of the same wear factors and attributes of Platinum. Palladium is: rare, hypoallergenic, a pure metal, naturally white and durable. Palladium is whiter in appearance to Platinum it is 12.6 percent harder then Platinum and is more wearable and can take more of the day-to-day wear of then Platinum. Palladium is lighter in weight compared to Platinum, as well because the metal density level is lower. This is why Palladium is significantly less expensive then Platinum. Metals are priced by weight and rarity. Palladium is as rare as Platinum, but because of the weights are significantly different it is amazingly less in cost compared to Platinum. Palladium in the 950 alloys will usually contain 95 percent Palladium, 5 percent Ruthenium or 5 percent Rhodium, depending on the manufacture, and some small amounts of silver and gallium.

Palladium does have its downside in the fact that it wears much like Platinum. It will not hold a mirror finish as long as gold jewelry and is expensive to make repairs on because of the high levels of heat, in the jewelers torch, it requires for the bench jewelry to bring it to it's melting point. Platinum requires these similar levels of heat and usually stones must be taken from the jewelry so the stones won't be damaged from the high heat levels including diamonds. Usually once Platinum needs repair it will need repair in the same area over time again because of the brittleness of the metal. Palladium does have similar challenges in the repair area, but not as severe as Platinum. Platinum also has no metal memory, which means once it is cast or altered into a position it does not want to revert back to its natural state unlike it's competitor Gold. Palladium does have more metal memory then Platinum and can be pushed to limits in the design process that Platinum cannot handle. Palladium and Platinum do have a few characteristics in common though both are tuff in the scientific sense meaning they resist corrosion and reactions with chemicals and other elements, but are not hard in any sense of the scientific meaning of the word. Platinum and Palladium scratch and do not resist scratching like gold. Platinum and Palladium are very soft in the sense they will not hold a polish or a design finish for very long.

From our point of view Palladium is a great Platinum Alternative, but from our experience we suggest 18Kt Palladium White Gold for all of our custom jewelry. We have found that using 18Kt Palladium White Gold over any other metal is using all the best characteristics of what gold and Palladium have to offer to create a great daily wear metal. Instead of alloying the gold with nickel we alloy it with Palladium. Nickel tends to cause skin reactions and will react with the skins sweat and turn the metal a yellowish tone over short period of time. We tried using 14Kt White Gold alloyed with Palladium in the past and found that the 14Kt is mixed with so many other things that it is too brittle and the purity levels of 18Kt Gold mixed with Palladium create perfect harmony for the alloys the gold and Palladium. Repair this combination is much more affordable and not hard on already set stones in the jewelry. Diamonds and most colored stones can stay in place during repair work is taking place and best of all the gold stays white and holds a mirror finish for years not months. This combination creates great workability and reparability for years to come. At diamonds of Palo Alto we are committed to brining you the most current and up to date information and will educate and help you make the best choice in metal type to create your one of a kind piece of jewelry.

Platinum:
Platinum is a very strong and heavy metal with a beautiful silver-white appearance. Because of its unique properties, it is one of the most durable precious metals used to make fine jewelry. Many people insist on using platinum for diamond settings because it does not add color to the appearance of the stone. Interestingly, platinum jewelry is also hypoallergenic as apposed to some gold alloys because of its purity.

Because platinum is more rare then gold, it is also more valuable. When purchasing a piece of platinum jewelry you should look for the marks that differentiate platinum from other metals such as silver or white gold. Platinum jewelry will be marked with 950Pt or Plat. In the United States this means that the piece must contain greater than 50% platinum.

Silver:
Silver is an extremely shiny metal that can be polished to a higher sheen than platinum. Like most metals used for jewelry, silver is very malleable and durable. Silver is plentiful throughout the world and has played a major role in jewelry as far back as 4000 B.C.

Like gold, silver in its purest form is relatively soft. Thus it is often alloyed with other metals such as copper. When referring to the composition of silver (in parts of silver per thousand of alloy) the term "fineness" is used.

When purchasing a piece of silver jewelry you should be aware that silver of varying fineness can be sold. For example, Sterling silver is 92.5% silver and carries a fineness of 925.