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| HOME : FORUM : EDUCATION : JEWELRY : 9K vs. 14K vs. 18K |
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Post#1 @
05-05-03
, 10:24 PM
Why does 9K gold seem to be common in Great Britain and the colonies? Are there any advantages to 9K? Or do they prefer it because it's cheaper? Do they think it looks better? 
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Post#2 @
05-06-03
, 02:14 AM
I think it's like the 10K gold commonly available in the US. Many mens' rings in the US are 10K. The only advantage I can think of is that 10K is stronger. I've seen many 9K English antique jewelry pieces which have a beautiful rose gold color. I imagine that 9K is used because it is cheaper with its lower gold content. I prefer 14K and 18K items, though I do own some nice pieces in 9K and 10K. |
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Post#3 @
05-06-03
, 02:21 AM
Itbit: Would you buy a 50s Rolex 9K watch (apparently built for the British market) over an 18k if you liked the appearance and condition of the watch, or would you opt for an 18k watch? I know this is a tough question because it's so subjective, but I guess the real question is whether there are any down sides to a 9K watch. |
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Post#4 @
05-06-03
, 10:03 AM
Low-karat gold is simply marketed as a cost-saver for the manufacturers where it is allowed by law. Low kaart "gold" has no advantage aside from price. Jewellers who sell a lot of it will tel their customers that 10K men's rings are tougher than higher karats, which creates misunderstandings with multitudes of customers. In fact, because 9 or 10 karat contains less than 40% gold, the positive attributes of gold are diminished by the negative properties of the alloy metals. When worn daily, jewellery made with low karat gold tarnishes, reacts with chemicals like chlorine (its everywhere!!) and the metal gets compromised by these reactions. Shanks break, settings fail...There is a reason why the Italians only manufacture in high karat gold for their domestic uses. It's not because they are snobs...they have a history of making superior products, and they know what works in the long run. In truth, higher karats of gold last longer, are more dense, therefore stronger in appropriate thicknesses, and look better for much longer. 9 or 10 karat should be associated with one thing only. CHEAP. With cheap, customers have no illusions of any sort of quality, nor should they. David |
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Post#5 @
05-06-03
, 11:38 AM
auplatinumman: Thank you, you have confirmed what I suspected. |
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Post#6 @
05-06-03
, 03:17 PM
8131, I would choose the 18K watch because my preference is always for high karat gold. |
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Post#7 @
05-06-03
, 03:34 PM
auplatinumman, I think you are right, however I am wondering why three jewelers, who are fine goldsmiths, who have nothing to gain by telling me this did so? I bought this opal ring from an estate. It was made in the Fifties and is marked 10CT inside, the 'CT' indicating that the setting was from England, or someplace other than the US. As I generally feel the way you do, I looked into having the opal removed and placed in a higher karat setting, but I opted not to because of cost and the fact that I liked how the setting looked. They told me that the bezel looks as good as it does, despite the ring being worn daily for decades, because it's 10K. They said that had the ring been 14K or 18K, the bezel probably would have looked warped or bent. I would have preferred that the ring be at least 14K, but it was such a good price for a large, fine opal that I went ahead and bought it. I've noticed that some 10K gold looks better than other 10K gold. For instance, my ring looks more like 14K, while other 10K gold I've seen often has a 'dull' appearance. Any comments would be most welcome. |
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Post#8 @
05-06-03
, 04:04 PM
What about color, I use to think that 14K was "yellower" and 18K was "redder", which would make 9K really light yellow. I understand that this isn't necessarily true, that you can't really tell the gold content from the color. What makes "rose gold" look like it does? What other alloy influences the deeper colors if not gold? What alloy takes the "gold" color out of white gold? If this attachment works, the watch and ring are stamped 14KT while the cuff link is stamped 4KT, the watch is quite red, while the cuff link is in the middle, and the ring is the lightest in color. BTW, nobody seems to wear large men's rings anymore, what do I do, just wait for them to come back into style? |
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Post#9 @
05-06-03
, 04:09 PM
Hi Itbit, It is the complexity of the issue that leads people to believe that jewellers are liars. Those whose job it is to sell jewellery make a faster turn on lower priced goods, therefore are rewarded financially for doing so. When I was an apprentice, I believed the same line as everyone else, that 10K was the way to go for all jewellery because other golds are too soft. Over the span of many years of working with all sorts of alloyed precious metals, and having a few lengthy discussions with many practicing goldsmiths who manufacture, fabricate, and place gemstones into settings, I have concluded that denser material (higher gold content) outperforms lower karat hands down. If examined on a molecular scale, there is simply more stuff to wear away on equal volumes of 18k versus 10K. The difference in weight alone in two identical articles should help you understand the "more stuff" explanation. As for the higher cost, I offer this; When an item such as a bezel is made, the SMALLEST percentage of the price is the cost of material. If you decide to use 10k instead of 18K, you have saved the manufacturer or goldsmith about $3.00. He doesn't want to make one, so he has ordered one from a supplier who doesn't stock higher karats because he's a price-point kinda guy. Get the picture? The market doesn't understand the issue, and the suppliers are all bottom-line oriented. So, when you go to mall stores and find the same, the same, the same, it's because of the way that North Americans regard jewellery. If you wish to see some of the planet's most amazing jewellery, look up www.pforzheim.de and go to any link labeled with this word: Schmuck (German for jewellery) If memory serves me correctly, it will take months to look at all the stuff. David |
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Post#10 @
05-06-03
, 04:41 PM
And I thought Schmuck meant something else. Here is another attempt to Zip that file: |
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Post#11 @
05-06-03
, 04:44 PM
Could somebody please explain how to attach files in this forum? I've zipped them but can't seem to make it work. |
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Pictures
Post#12 @
05-06-03
, 08:16 PM
I'll try again. |
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Post#13 @
05-07-03
, 02:29 PM
8131, I use Adobe Photoshop to shrink my jpeg images, then I browse "My Pictures" and attach the image when I post. |
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Post#14 @
05-07-03
, 02:42 PM
Quote:
auplatinumman, this is true. Had my setting been made of 14K gold, it would have cost just about three dollars more to make. Most consumers, who know little about jewelry, view gold as extremely precious and expensive. It really isn't, or should I say, it IS, for the average consumer. I have several friends who are intelligent and educated who had no idea what the difference was between 10K and 14K gold, and they even looked mystified when I explained why one was better than the other. |
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Post#15 @
05-07-03
, 02:50 PM
8131, gold color is determined by the composition of the alloy. For example, reddish gold (rose gold) has a lot of copper in the alloy. (Rose gold happens to be one of my favorites). 22K and 24K gold (almost pure and pure gold) looks extremely yellow. |
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Post#16 @
05-07-03
, 03:56 PM
Itbit: That's what I tried to do, what ressolution do you set your camera at, and to what size do you compress your JPEGs? I kept getting messages that my file was too big. I keep getting this message: "The image that you have attached is too big. Please make it no bigger than 700 x 0." The maximum size is supposed to be 102,400 bytes, I have compressed down to 54,000 bytes and still get the same message. What does 700 x 0 mean? "O" is impossible. Am I the only one heaving this problem? |
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Post#17 @
05-07-03
, 04:42 PM
It is baffling, and I struggled for quite a while with those "your file is too big" messages, and so have others. I'm not sure what my camera is set at, but I figured out how to post pictures here by playing with my settings at Photoshop. For example, this photo below has the settings under 'Image Size': Pixel Dimensions: 490K Width: 346 pixels Height: 483 pixels Document Size Width: 2.403 inches Height: 3.354 inches Resolution: 144 pixels/inch Constrain Proportion and Resample Image: Bicubic boxes are checked I did figure out how to post icons (my face picture by my name) by imitating someone else's numerical image settings. Good luck to you. From Itbit, who has no idea how to make zip files. |
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Post#18 @
05-07-03
, 09:12 PM
Itbit Do you look as good as your picture? Thaks for your advice, I am trying again. |
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Post#19 @
05-07-03
, 09:22 PM
Time to celebrate! I did it, thanks to you, I followed your advice explicitly. Now back to my original question (that I've forgotten) |
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Post#20 @
05-07-03
, 09:54 PM
Itbit: Forgive me for trying out my new skills, but I've played with PhotoShop more and want to see if I have been able to improve the color on the watch. The watch is 14KT Rose Gold, The Ring is 14KT (lightest yellow of the three), and the cuff link is 4KT. The Watch is very red, and that didn't come out the first time because of the reflection from the flash. Any advice on photographing jewelry to reduce flash reflection? What's with 4KT anyway? The cuff links were given to me, does that mean they are cheap? The presentation box comes form a prominent local jeweler. |
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Post#21 @
05-07-03
, 10:11 PM
8131, Not quite--I'm a slightly dumpy menopausal blonde woman, but I'm still cute...but not as cute as my picture LOL!! I am an artist who DREW that picture... I'm so glad that my advice helped you to post pictures. I'm not all that knowledgeable computer-wise, so when I am able to share my limited knowledge, it makes me feel very good indeed. |
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Post#22 @
05-07-03
, 10:18 PM
Itbit: I think the reason that I was getting the crazy message: "Please make it no bigger than 700 x 0", was that my picture was too tall, and the system came up with the zero. |
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Post#23 @
05-07-03
, 10:25 PM
I like your jewelry. I do manipulate my photos with Photoshop in order to present a better quality picture. My favorite function is to hit 'Image' then 'Adjustments' then 'Brightness/ Contrast.' Increasing contrast slightly can sharpen an image, transforming a marginal image into a passably decent one. Sometimes I use 'Color Balance'under 'Adjustments' to clean up a picture with bad color. I do try, after all that, to keep a jewelry picture looking true to life, as I want to present the item looking as real as possible, not 'doctored up.' I find I often have a glare problem in the background, and then I clean it up with the 'Band-aid' function or with the paintbrush. Cassandra and others here actually know more about photos and take far better pictures than I do. My diamond pictures don't look all that good but some of my others do, such as this one taken in the woods nearby. My camera is a 3 megapixel Olympus and it's not top-of-the-line. |
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Post#24 @
05-07-03
, 10:32 PM
I've never heard of 4K gold. Maybe auplatinumman or another knowledgeable jewelry person can answer. |
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Itbit: That's why I asked, I wonder if it really is "14KT", but the "1" didn't stamp in to the metal? And, my eyes aren't all that great any more, I did take a magnifying glass to it, but it appears to say "4KT" on both links. I've got three pocket watches I've inherited, maybe I'll get them out and utilize my new skill and post them on the "Watches" forum. I am not really concerned about value since I have no reason to sell anything, but one in particular is a full Hunter from the mid 1800s and it is quite heavy. I think I'll buy a book on pocket watches and see what I can find out. It's interesting how as older relatives die off you find stuff they have inherited and stowed away for many years. Lots of junk, but sometimes a few choice pieces. I'll post a picture of a gold watch chain that's quite heavy and test my new skill, following your latest advice! |
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