Education

Sterling Silver is a white and highly reflective precious metal. Sterling refers to silver that is 92.5 percent pure, with 7.5 parts of another metal, usually copper or alloy, to make the piece harder. Normally 925 should be stamped on the metal.  This standard was set by the US Government in the Stamping Act of 1906.

Sterling Silver is one of the most popular metals in the jewelry industry. Most people that have allergic reactions to some metals are able to wear sterling silver. Sterling silver is easy to clean and care for. It will tarnish with time, but a little rubbing with a polishing cloth, and it will look good as new, or a protective coating may be added to prevent tarnish.

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Rhodium is closely related to the precious metal Platinum. Rhodium is a lustrous, silver-white metal and is used in jeweler manufacture because of its brilliance, highly polished appearance and resistance to tarnish. Rhodium can be applied to base metals, gold, sterling silver, or some other alloy, to give it a shiny white surface like platinum.

Sterling silver jewelry has a tendency to form tarnish rather quickly. Rhodium plated sterling silver will retain it's original appearance longer than a natural sterling silver.

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What is Mother of Pearl (MOP)?

MOP is the lining of the shell that houses the pearl. It is usually the same color,  composition and quality as the pearls that were produced by the particular mollusk.  MOP is often used in sterling silver jewelry because of its regal and sophisticated look.

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What is Cubic Zirconium (CZ)?

CZ looks very similar to diamond and usually hard to distinguish the difference with the naked eye.  Even trained jewelers cannot tell the difference between a CZ and a Diamond with the naked eye.

CZ has many characteristics like diamond but at a fraction of the cost.  CZ is slightly less brilliance (liveliness and sparkle) than diamonds, while having more fire (flashes of rainbow colors).  CZ has a scientific hardness rating of 8.5 (vs. Diamond 10) on the Mohs' scale, hence can scratch glass (hardness 6~7).  CZ is about 75% heavier than diamond and comes in variety of colors.  High Quality CZ is machine cut to exacting tolerances that duplicates the diamond-cutting process.  Main sources of CZ are United States, Switzerland, Thailand and China.

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What is Quartz ?

Quartz is basically a rock crystal, which is available in a large variety of forms. It can be found in igneous, sedimentary, and metamorphic rocks. Quartz is made of crystalline silica, can be transparent or opaque, and can be nearly any color but is most often white, gray, pink, or light brown.

Because of its beauty, Quartz has been one of the most preferred gemstones in jewelry industry.

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