Gold, silver and platinum jewellery and hallmarking jewellery

Gold colours and grades

These colour-created illustrations are just a shade guide. We will be happy to show you the real variations when selecting your metal.	This guide should give you an idea of how the various standards of metal are formed. For all gold alloys, the combination of metals can change marginally, depending on how the maker wants to produce the finished piece. However, the content of gold remains at the hallmark standard. Browse down the list, to find the metal you're thinking of choosing for your commission.
	22ct Yellow gold. 91.75% gold + Silver and copper. 22ct gold is the purest of all the grades used in jewellery manufacture in Britain. Pure 24ct gold is considered too soft. Colour: There are not any colour variations at this grade, the amount of pure gold content dominates and dictates the colour. Because of the gold content, jewellery items tend to be heavier and the wear properties can be a little less durable. Hallmarked as 916 or more commonly as 22. 916 refers to the percentage of pure gold present
	18ct Yellow gold. 75.10% gold 15.97% silver + copper Colour: Metal characteristics are determined by the addition alloys added to the gold. In this case the silver and copper alloy added in predetermined volumes maintains its yellow colour. The 18ct carat group, along with Platinum are the most popular metals chosen for bespoke pieces. Hallmarked as 750, this refers to the minimum percentage of 75% pure gold present
	18ct White gold. 75.10% gold 7.9% silver + palladium Colour: Metal properties are always determined by the additional alloys. In this case the Silver and Palladium( both white metals) give a greyish to white colour.18ct white gold is sometimes referred to as ‘grey gold’. Some jewellery manufactures tend to electro-plate this metal (Rhodium Plating) in order to make the setting around diamonds whiter. Problems can occur with rhodium plating when it’s applied to the whole piece, as it can wear off, particularly on rings. Hallmarked as 750, thisrefers to the minimum percentage of 75% pure gold present
	18ct Red gold. 75.10% gold 4.5% Silver + copper Colour: The gold volume remains the same as the rest of 18ct family. As you can see in the additional alloy content, copper is the greatest after gold, giving it that lovely pinkie-red hue.18ct red is a far more subtle shade than 9ct red because of the proportion of copper added within the entire volume available. Hallmarked as 750, this refers to the minimum percentage of 75% pure gold present
	14ct White gold 58.6% gold + Nickel, Zinc and copper Colour: The colour, as with other white gold types is determined by the additional white alloys added. The shade falls between 18ct and 9ct We are happy to make your special commission in 14ct. Hallmarked as 585, this refers to the minimum percentage of 58.5% pure gold present
	14ct Yellow gold. 58.6% gold 5.43% silver +zinc and copper Colour: 14ct falls right between 18ct and 9ct in terms of colour shade. 14ct gold is more widely used in Mainland Europe than in the UK. We are happy to make your special commission in 14ct. Hallmarked as 585, this refers to the minimum percentage of 58.5% pure gold present
	9ct White gold. 37.6% gold 55.47% silver + copper and zinc. Colour: Whiter than both 14ct and 18ct because of the high content of silver. It is popular with large manufactures because as a raw material, it is cheaper. Though we certainly can produce commissions in 9ct, it’s not chosen quite so often. However we are happy to make your special commission in 9ct white gold. Hallmarked as 375, this refers to the minimum percentage of 37.5% pure gold present
	9ct Yellow gold. 37.6% gold 10.3% silver + copper and zinc Colour: Because the content of gold is only 37.5% the yellow is quite weak. It is popular with large manufactures because as a raw material, it is cheaper. Though we certainly can produce commissions in 9ct, it’s not chosen quite so often. However we are happy to make your special commission in 9ct. Hallmarked as 375, this refers to the minimum percentage of 37.5% pure gold present
	Platinum 97% platinum + copper Colour: Brilliant White Platinum should be your first choice, if you’re looking for ultimate luxury in terms of metal. If you want the most precious metal jewellery is made from, this is it! It’s very pure and heavier than gold in like-for- like volume. It’s also more expensive than gold. Hallmarked as 950.
	Palladium 95% palladium +gallium and copper. Colour: An alternative to white gold and platinum .Whiter than white gold. Lower in density than Platinum and 18ct white gold, so the finished piece will feel lighter in weight. It’s said to tarnish less easily than 18ct white gold under every day conditions. Costs less than platinum. This alloy is recent to the UK market. Hallmarked as : As yet, palladium does not have a classification with British Assay Offices.
	Silver. (sterling) 92.8% sliver + copper Colour: White. Sherry Jewellery are happy to make your special commission in Silver. Hallmarked as 925

What’s hallmarking?

Items of jewellery are hallmarked to determine what type of precious metal the piece is made from. Silver, Gold and platinum are all hallmarked.

Items of Silver jewellery which weight below 7.78g, gold items below 1g and Platinum items below 0.5g are exempt and do not require a hallmark. Hallmarks can only be marked by one of the four official assay offices -Birmingham, London, Sheffield & Edinburgh, with each office having its own unique mark.

The assay offices test all items which require marking in the UK, taking a small sample, either by scrapping or by chemical analysis, to complete the test. The test confirms the legal standards of fineness or purity. Once satisfied with the result, the assay office will apply the appropriate hallmark to the item. SHERRY JEWELLERY is registered with the Birmingham assay office.

Putting different metals together

Making bespoke pieces from different metal doesn’t usually present any difficulties in the making process, though there are certain circumstances where we don’t recommend it.

When the piece comes to be assayed the metal that has the greater volume carry’s the hallmark that identifies that metal.