foreword
While jewelry used to be primarily reserved for the nobility, royal families and similarly wealthy people to symbolize power and wealth, it is now accessible to a large proportion of people. Sure, there are still no limits to the prices, so there are pieces of jewelery with which you can wear a family house on your finger or around your neck, but beautiful jewelery does not always have to be expensive. In my opinion, the meaning of jewelery has undergone a very positive change. The wearer should primarily look more beautiful with jewelry than without - logically!
Different (precious) metals
But what makes the difference in price and quality anyway? How do you know if the price is justified or not? Let's look specifically at the differences in rings.
First of all, of course, there is the material of the ring. Apart from materials such as glass, porcelain, stone or similar rather unusual material, rings were mostly made of silver, gold or copper in earlier times.
Recently, palladium and platinum have also been added in the highest price ranges, which are now in great demand, especially for wedding rings.
Very cheap rings, which you can throw away as "fashion accessories" for little money, are mostly made of brass, zinc and simple steel. The individual models are also often available in different alloys. This means that several metals have been joined together by a melting process.
The respective shares are indicated by a code. So a ring made of 925 silver (known as sterling silver) is 925 parts pure silver and 25 parts another metal, usually copper.
The differences in quality are already obvious after a short time, or are stuck on the finger. While rings with a high proportion of gold and silver still shine confidently and hardly change their condition after many years with just a little care, pieces of jewelery made of inferior material discolour and deform after a short time. Rings that have only a thin outer layer of gold applied will flake off quickly revealing the inferior material which is not pretty to look at.
It is also not to be disregarded that high-quality material such as sterling silver is considered hypo-allergenic, while many people are allergic to metals such as nickel and develop unpleasant skin reactions.
It is therefore advisable to take a close look at the material from which the respective piece of jewelry was made before buying it.
Different (precious) stones
The rings are usually not only made of one of the materials mentioned above, but often have an eye-catcher and a special highlight. A ring with a diamond is probably still the most respected form of decoration. The bigger the diamond, the better and more expensive it is. If it also has a certain color and an elaborate cut, you have to dig deep into your pocket to be able to call it your own.
But even the cheapest models in department stores around the world have "stones" on the rings. Of course, this is nowhere near a hand-cut diamond, but acrylic or plastic cast in a mold.
The most well-known imitations of diamonds are known as "rhinestones", which consist of glass flux containing lead. In the past, crystals from the Rhine were used for this, which still give the rhinestone the English name "Rhinestone". The difference between a real diamond and a rhinestone is easy for the attentive observer to notice in a direct comparison. In particular, the sparkle of a diamond when it breaks and reflects light cannot be imitated.
The situation is somewhat different with the probably highest quality imitations of gemstones. These are mass-produced in the laboratory. The chemical properties of the respective stone are reproduced. The "American Diamond" and the zirconia (not to be confused with the natural blue zircon) are particularly well known.
These synthetic stones are very difficult to recognize. However, it is often the flawlessness of a stone that exposes it as a fake. So-called "inclusions", which are regarded as marks in most natural gemstones, do not occur in a gemstone reproduced in the laboratory.
But even if the differences are hardly recognizable, it is ultimately a very romantic aspect that ensures that natural gemstones are worth many times more than their imitations: A natural gemstone has arisen from nature, it is unique in its color and Form unique and there is no second time! Despite its even cut, it always shows unique patterns in color and shine. The synthetic stone, on the other hand, is like any other specimen and does not reveal any special features.
Production: factory vs. manual work
The last aspect that particularly influences quality and price is the production of the jewellery.
I certainly don't need to go deeper into the fact that cheap fashion accessories are mass-produced in local factories in China.
But even the higher quality jewelry from well-known brands is not handmade. The personnel and fixed costs are too high for it to be economical. The production of a single ring alone costs between €150.00 and €300.00 in Europe. Material is not included in this price. Although there is the option of having a mold made and using it for each additional specimen, this process has a crucial catch: gemstones may only deviate minimally in shape, cut and size. When using natural gemstones, you quickly reach your limits. This is a key reason why lab grown gemstones are often resorted to.
Truly handcrafted one-offs, on the other hand, are very expensive or have been manufactured overseas under poor conditions. The quality often suffers here. It often happens that the setting of cheap jewelery no longer holds after a short time, so that the gemstone falls out.
It also took us at Spirit of Island a lot of time, money and effort to find a blacksmith who could meet the high standards of the western world. We are all the happier now that we have found our trusted gold and silversmith! :-)
You are happy to pay the higher price, knowing that in the end the result is right and you will be proud to send your jewelery to the customer.
Conclusion
Personally, I've loved jewelry since I was a little girl. For a long time, I too bought cheap fashion jewelry again and again, only to find out in the end that it was scratched, discolored or deformed after a few days. But probably the most negative quality of cheap jewelery for me is the bad smell, which it takes on after only a few days. I'm sure you're clamoring in agreement now that you know exactly what I mean and you know this problem all too well. This aspect changed my attitude towards jewelry. Today I prefer to buy a little less jewelry, but this one with care. I enjoy the selection process. Once the decision has been made, I eagerly await the delivery and can hardly wait to hold my chosen piece of jewelery in my hands. I've been more aware of my jewelry ever since. I often associate emotional moments with him and have stories about it.
But my environment also reacts much more positively to the high-quality jewelry - one is asked about it much more often.
All of these aspects and my personal experience with jewelry has led me to fill what I believe is a void in the commercial jewelry trade: Sterling Silver and Eco Gold Handmade Jewelry using only natural gemstones . And although we pay our partners fairly and act sustainably, our jewelry is still affordable. Why is that? We keep our fixed costs low. There is no rent for shops and there is no expensive marketing machinery like the big brands.
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Thank you for your time and attention!
Stay Sparkle! ;-)
Ina
