All That Glitters... How to Buy Jewelry
Buying jewelry can be fun,
exciting and confusing. Whether you're considering a gift of jewelry for someone special
or as a treat for yourself, take some time to learn the terms used in the industry. Here's
some information to help you get the best quality jewelry for your money, whether you're
shopping in a traditional brick and mortar store by
catalog or online.
Gold
The word gold, used by itself, means
all gold or 24
karat (24K) gold. Because 24K gold is soft, it's usually mixed with other metals to
increase its hardness and durability. If a piece of jewelry is not 24 karat gold, the
karat quality should accompany any claim that the item is gold.
The karat quality marking tells you what proportion of gold is mixed
with the other metals. Fourteen karat (14K) jewelry contains 14 parts of gold, mixed
in throughout with 10 parts of base metal. The higher the karat rating, the higher
the proportion of gold in the piece of jewelry.
Most jewelry is marked with its karat quality, although marking is not required by law.
Near the karat quality mark, you should see the name or the U.S. registered trademark of
the company that will stand behind the mark. The trademark may be in the form of a name,
symbol or initials. If you don't see a trademark accompanying a quality mark on a piece of
jewelry, look for another piece.
Solid gold refers to an item made of any karat gold, if the inside of
the item is not hollow. The proportion of gold in the piece of jewelry still is determined
by the karat mark.
Jewelry can be plated with gold in a variety of ways.
Gold plate
refers to items that are either mechanically plated, electroplated, or plated by any other
means with gold to a base metal. Eventually, gold plating wears away, but how soon will
depend on how often the item is worn and how thick the plating is.
Gold-filled,
gold overlay and
rolled gold
plate are terms used to describe jewelry that has a layer of at least 10
karat gold mechanically bonded to a base metal. If the jewelry is marked with one of these
terms, the term or abbreviation should follow the karat quality of the gold used (for
example, 14K Gold Overlay or
12K RGP). If the layer of
karat gold is less than 1/20th of the total weight of the item, any marking must state the
actual percentage of karat gold, such as 1/40 14K Gold Overlay.
Gold electroplate describes jewelry that has a layer (at least .175
microns thick) of a minimum of 10 karat gold deposited on a base metal by an electrolytic
process. The terms gold flashed or
gold washed describe
products that have an extremely thin electroplating of gold (less than .175 microns
thick). This will wear away more quickly than gold plate, gold-filled or gold
electroplate.
Platinum, Silver and Other Metals
Platinum is a precious metal that costs more than gold. It usually
is mixed with other similar metals, known as the platinum group metals: iridium,
palladium, ruthenium, rhodium and osmium.
Different markings are used on platinum jewelry as compared with gold jewelry, based on
the amount of pure platinum in the piece. The quality markings for platinum are based on
parts per thousand. For example, the marking
900 Platinum means that 900
parts out of 1000 are pure platinum, or in other words, the item is 90% platinum and 10%
other metals. The abbreviations for platinum -
Plat. or Pt. - also can be
used in marking jewelry.
Items that contain at least 950 parts per thousand pure platinum can be marked simply
platinum.
Items that have at least 850 parts per thousand pure platinum can be marked with the
amount of pure platinum and the word platinum or an abbreviation (for example,
950
platinum, 900 Plat. or
850 Pt.). Jewelry that
contains less than 850 parts per thousand pure platinum, but has a total of 950 parts per
thousand of platinum group metals (of which at least 500 parts is pure platinum), may be
marked with both the amount of pure platinum and the amount of the other platinum group
metals in the piece. For example, the marking
600 Plat. 350 Irid. means
that the item has 600 parts per thousand (60%) platinum, and 350 parts per thousand (35%)
iridium, totaling 950 parts per thousand of platinum group metals, and 50 parts per
thousand (5%) other metals.
The words silver or
sterling silver describe a
product that contains 92.5% silver. Silver products sometimes may be marked
925
which means that 925 parts per thousand are pure silver. Some jewelry may be described as
silverplate: a layer of silver is bonded to a base metal. The mark coin silver is used for
compounds that contain 90% silver. According to the law, quality-marked silver also must
bear the name or a U.S. registered trademark of the company or person that will stand
behind the mark.
Vermeil (ver-may), a special type of gold plated product, consists of
a base of sterling silver that is coated or plated with gold.
Pewter items may be described and marked as such if they contain at
least 90% tin.
Gemstones
Natural gemstones are found in nature.
Laboratory-created stones,
as the name implies, are made in a laboratory. These stones, which also are referred to as
laboratory-grown, [name of manufacturer]-created, or synthetic, have essentially the same
chemical, physical and visual properties as natural gemstones. Laboratory- created stones
do not have the rarity of naturally colored stones and they are less expensive than
naturally mined stones. By contrast, imitation stones look like natural
stones in appearance only, and may be glass, plastic, or less costly stones.
Laboratory-created and imitation stones should be clearly identified as such.
Gemstones may be measured by weight, size, or both. The basic unit for weighing
gemstones is the carat, which is equal to one-fifth (1/5th) of a gram. Carats are divided
into 100 units, called points. For example, a half-carat gemstone would
weigh .50 carats or 50 points. When gemstones are measured by dimensions, the size is
expressed in millimeters (for example, 7x5 millimeters).
Gemstone treatments or enhancements refer to the way some gems are
treated to improve their appearance or durability, or even change their color. Many
gemstones are treated in some way. The effects of some treatments may lessen or change
over time and some treated stones may require special care. Some enhancements also affect
the value of a stone, when measured against a comparable untreated stone.
Jewelers should tell you whether the gemstone you're considering has been treated when:
the treatment is not permanent; the treated stone requires special care; or the treatment
significantly affects the value of the gemstone.
Some common treatments that you may be told about and their effects include:
- Heating can lighten, darken or change the color of some gems, or
improve a gemstone's clarity.
- Irradiation can add more color to colored diamonds, certain other
gemstones and pearls.
- Impregnating some gems with colorless oils, wax or resins makes a
variety of imperfections less visible and can improve the gemstones' clarity and
appearance.
- Fracture filling hides cracks or fractures in gems by injecting
colorless plastic or glass into the cracks and improves the gemstones' appearance and
durability.
- Diffusion treatment adds color to the surface of colorless gems; the
center of the stone remains colorless.
- Dyeing adds color and improves color uniformity in some gemstones and
pearls.
- Bleaching lightens and whitens some gems, including jade and pearls.
Diamonds
A diamond's value is based on four criteria: color, cut, clarity, and carat. The clarity
and color of a diamond usually are graded. However, scales are not uniform: a clarity
grade of "slightly included" may represent a different grade on one grading
system versus another, depending on the terms used in the scale. Make sure you know how a
particular scale and grade represent the color or clarity of the diamond you're
considering. A diamond can be described as "flawless" only if it has no visible
surface or internal imperfections when viewed under 10-power magnification by a skilled
diamond grader.
As with other gems,
diamond weight usually is stated in carats.
Diamond weight may be described in decimal or fractional parts of a carat. If the weight
is given in decimal parts of a carat, the figure should be accurate to the last decimal
place. For example, ".30 carat" could represent a diamond that weighs between
.295 - .304 carat. Some retailers describe diamond weight in fractions and use the
fraction to represent a range of weights. For example, a diamond described as 1/2 carat
could weigh between .47 - .54 carat. If diamond weight is stated as fractional parts of a
carat, the retailer should disclose two things: that the weight is not exact, and the
reasonable range of weight for each fraction or the weight tolerance being used.
Some diamonds may be treated to improve their appearance in similar ways as other
gemstones. Since these treatments improve the clarity of the diamond, some jewelers refer
to them as clarity enhancement. One type of treatment -
fracture filling
- conceals cracks in diamonds by filling them with a foreign substance. This filling may
not be permanent and jewelers should tell you if the diamond you're considering has
been fracture-filled.
Another treatment -
lasering - involves the use of a laser beam to
improve the appearance of diamonds that have black inclusions or spots. A laser beam is
aimed at the inclusion. Acid is then forced through a tiny tunnel made by the laser beam
to remove the inclusion. Lasering is permanent and a laser-drilled stone does not
require special care.
While a laser-drilled diamond may appear as beautiful as a comparable untreated stone,
it may not be as valuable. That's because an untreated stone of the same quality is rarer
and therefore more valuable. Jewelers should tell you whether the diamond you're
considering has been laser-drilled.
Imitation diamonds, such as cubic zirconia, resemble diamonds in
appearance but are much less costly. Certain laboratory-created gemstones, such as
lab-created moissanite, also resemble diamonds and may not be adequately detected by the
instruments originally used to identify cubic zirconia. Ask your jeweler if he has the
current testing equipment to distinguish between diamonds and other lab-created stones.
Pearls
Natural or
real pearls are made by oysters and other
mollusks. Cultured pearls also are grown by mollusks, but with human
intervention; that is, an irritant introduced into the shells causes a pearl to grow.
Imitation
pearls are man-made with glass, plastic, or organic materials.
Because natural pearls are very rare, most pearls used in jewelry are either cultured
or imitation pearls. Cultured pearls, because they are made by oysters or mollusks,
usually are more expensive than imitation pearls. A cultured pearl's value is largely
based on its size, usually stated in millimeters, and the quality of its nacre coating,
which gives it luster. Jewelers should tell you if the pearls are cultured or imitation.
Some black, bronze, gold, purple, blue and orange pearls, whether natural or cultured,
occur that way in nature; some, however, are dyed through various processes. Jewelers
should tell you whether the colored pearls are naturally colored, dyed or irradiated.
A Jewelry Shoppers Checklist
When you're in the market for a piece of jewelry for yourself or someone you love,
shop around. Compare quality, price, and service. If you're not familiar with any jewelers
in your area, ask family members, friends, and co-workers for recommendations. You also
should:
- Ask for the store's refund and return policy before you buy.
- Check for the appropriate markings on metal jewelry.
- Ask whether the pearls are natural, cultured, or imitation.
- Ask whether a gemstone is natural, laboratory-created, or imitation.
- Ask whether the gemstone has been treated. Is the change permanent? Is special care
required?
- Make sure the jeweler writes on the sales receipt any information you relied on when
making your purchase, such as the gem's weight or size. Some jewelers also may supply a
grading report from a gemological laboratory.
In addition, these tips apply when you're shopping for jewelry online:
- Shop with companies you know or do some homework before buying to make sure a company is
legitimate before doing business with it.
- Get the details about the product, as well as the merchant's refund and return policies,
before you buy.
- Look for an address to write to or a phone number to call if you have a question, a
problem or need help.
For More Information
If you have a problem with the jewelry you purchased, first try to resolve it with
the jeweler. If you are dissatisfied with the response, contact your local Better Business
Bureau or local consumer protection agency. You also may contact the Jewelers Vigilance
Committee's Alternative Dispute Resolution Service. This program assists consumers and
businesses in resolving disputes about jewelry. The Jewelers Vigilance Committee (JVC) is
an independent, non-profit organization formed to advance ethical practices in the jewelry
industry. You may contact the JVC by mail: 25 West 45th Street, Suite 400, New York, NY
10036-4902, or by phone: 212-997-2002.
|