Materials and hallmark
Everything about the materials I use in making jewellery, instructions on how to care for jewellery and information from the hallmarking office
Materials:
A softer precious metal that has a snow-white color.
If your silver starts to turn black, don't panic, it's a natural property of this material. A thin oxide layer can form on silver in the air or in contact with sweat.
This can be easily removed with a cloth intended for cleaning silver or with a silver cleaner that you can buy at a drugstore (do not use silver cleaner if you also have stones, pearls, etc. in your jewellery, the chemical could damage them). You can also contact me and, by prior arrangement, I will clean the jewellery for you while you wait.
At first glance, you can't tell the difference between yellow and rose gold. A good recognition tip is the price - silver is always cheaper. The gilding is done by electroplating with a thickness of 3 microns, therefore it is necessary to take into account that the layer will rub off over time. With a ring, gilding naturally wears off faster than, for example, with earrings. If you want a constant colour of your jewellery, I recommend investing in a gold ring. You will definitely appreciate it in time.
Even gold-plated silver can tarnish over time. The best way to revive it is with a silver cleaner from the drugstore, just don't use a cloth because it can also remove the plating. If your plating wears off, let me know and I can restore it for a fee.
It has a specific black color caused by silver sulphide. Silver is naturally black in the air, and this process is accelerated in patinated jewellery.
Cleaning is not needed, as black colour is directly required for this jewelry. The only thing that can happen is that the black patina wears off. With Tord jewellery, it usually happens that the silver colour of the jewellery rubs off on the surface, a black patina remains in the folds of the hairs, and the jewellery thus becomes originally drawn.
A material that looks very similar to gold-plated silver. The difference is in the use of rhodium metal, which is platinum and permanent. Its color is darker than silver and looks more like stainless steel. Plating is carried out galvanically in a thin layer with a thickness of 3 microns. Thanks to rhodium, silver acquires a permanent color and is not black.
Cleaning is the same as for gold-plated silver.
It contains 585 parts of pure gold and 415 parts of other impurities such as copper, silver and zinc.
Gold is a permanent metal and does not need to be cleaned like silver. If you want the jewellery to be shiny, you can buff it with a cloth soaked in a cleaning chemical. The jewellery can be nicely cleaned of dust and grease using a spring and an old toothbrush.
It has 585 parts of pure gold and 415 parts of silver or palladium in its alloy.
White gold is characterised by a matte surface (for example, in twisted rings) and a light yellow colour (so-called champagne).
You purify it just like yellow gold.
14 carat white gold, which is galvanically plated with the permanent platinum metal rhodium, can be recognised by its metallic stainless shine.
This variant bears the same shade as rhodium-plated silver. But the inside is 14-karat gold (Au 585/1000) and the surface is a metallic cold colour, not champagne. If your plating wears off over time, I will be happy to restore it for a fee.
You purify it just like yellow gold.
Its colour is pink like copper. 14 carat (Au 585/1000) gold has in its alloy 585 parts of pure gold and 415 parts, where copper prevails at the expense of silver.
You purify it just like yellow gold.
If something unpleasant has happened to your jewellery, write to me and we will definitely fix it.
Hallmark and purity
All jewellery made of precious metals is properly hallmarked according to the hallmarking law of the Czech Republic.
On the jewellery you will find the HP production mark, which indicates that the jewellery was made in my workshop. Subsequently, you will find the purity mark here, which indicates the purity of the material. And finally, you will usually find a hallmark from the hallmarking office (silver jewellery under 3 grams does not need to have a hallmark).
The purity of the gold is always Au 585/1000 which is 14 carat gold.
The purity of silver is always Ag 925/1000.
The stones that I most often use in engagement rings have two types of cut. The first is a brilliant cut, which reflects light best and perfectly plays the role of a noble transparent stone. The second type is the cabaccon, or muggle.
Your own gold
If you have your own gold that you want to breathe new life into, feel free to bring it to me. The price of the created jewellery will be reduced by the material, while it depends on the amount of gold delivered and its purity. It can be jewellery, gold teeth, coins, gold bars and its other forms. Its colour does not matter. Most of the delivered gold is analyzed, which takes 1-2 weeks, after which we will find out the number of grams and the purity of your gold. I am buying 14 carat gold Au 585/1000 on 1 November 2022 for 500 CZK. However, the price may vary according to the current exchange rate.
However, for technical reasons, it is not possible to use your gold directly in a new piece of jewellery. When casting a new piece of jewellery, several pieces are created at the same time, and therefore a greater amount of gold material of the same purity is used.