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Silver |
I use sterling silver for my jewellery which is 925 parts pure silver to 75 parts copper. Silver has to be alloyed in this way because in its pure state it is just too soft to make wearable jewellery and relies upon its copper content to increase its durability. | ||||
Gold |
As with silver, gold is also alloyed with other metals to increase its durability and this also determines its colour. The amount of other metals added dictates the carat of the gold. 9ct gold is 37.5% pure gold to 62.5% alloys and 18ct gold is 75% pure gold to 25% alloys. | ||||
Platinum |
Platinum is the toughest out of all the metals and also the densest making it the most durable. It is also by far the most expensive as it is twice as heavy as 9ct gold and cost 5 times as much. Platinum is 95% pure platinum with 5% alloys . | ||||
