Our Guide To Gold: Solid Gold Jewellery
At ANUKA, we value longevity and believe in the beauty of modern-day heirlooms. Our collection of solid gold jewellery define the everyday essential, crafted with the intention to pass on through the generations.
When investing in solid gold jewellery, it can be helpful to understand and acknowledge the properties of gold. To help you decide on your next timeless treasure, we wanted to take you through some common questions we often get about solid gold jewellery.
Gold Karats Explained
At ANUKA our solid gold pieces are typically made using 9ct or 18ct Fairmined Gold. Karat (ct) is the unit that measures the amount of pure gold in a piece of solid gold jewellery, relative to any other metals or alloys that may be present.
9 Karat
Many pieces within our Signature Collection are made using 9ct Fairmined Gold. 9ct Gold has a paler, buttery hue allowing for a more subtle addition to your collection. 9ct gold jewellery is typically more hard wearing, due to the different alloys that make up the 9ct gold, therefore making the perfect pieces for everyday wear.
18 Karat
18ct is often a popular karat due to its richer colour, making for an ideal karat to compliment gemstones. While slightly softer than 9ct, this karat is still very durable and is often a preferred metal for Wedding Bands and Engagement Rings due to its more solid feel and value.
Gold Hallmarks And What They Mean
Gold hallmarks are the stamp that determines the amount of pure gold within a piece of solid gold jewellery, the number stamped corresponds to the percentage of pure gold within a piece.
For example, 9ct is hallmarked 375 as it consists of 37.5% pure gold, while 18ct is 750 (75% pure gold). Sometimes, it may be the case that some hallmarks may simply just say "9" or "18", this can typically be seen on older pieces of solid gold jewellery.
All ANUKA pieces are hallmarked at the Birmingham Assay Office. Stamped with our maker's mark (FK) to assure customers of its quality. Explore our full guide to hallmarking to understand the importance of it within the jewellery industry.
What Are Gold Alloys?
Pure gold is very soft and malleable, so alloys are created to make it more suitable for jewellery. This helps to increase its strength, making it more durable as well as giving the gold a range of hues.
Copper, silver, nickel, and palladium are all common alloys within gold jewellery, each one used for a different purpose.
For example, rose gold is created by adding copper to give a pink hue, while yellow gold is created with alloys of zinc, copper and silver. White gold often uses nickel or zinc, giving it a silver tone. At ANUKA, our white gold has added palladium instead of nickel, this makes it is much more durable and won't need rhodium plating.
Fairmined Gold
Handmade in the UK, our pieces are ethically made using Fairmined gold, all fully traceable to source.
Fairmined is an assurance label that certifies gold from empowered responsible artisanal and small-scale mining organisations.
It helps supports small-scale artisanal miners and their communities; providing fair pay, gender equality, no child labour, safe working conditions and clean water supplies.
What Karat of Gold Is Best?
When it comes to choosing the karat of gold, like most things, it all comes down to personal preference. Budget, colour preference and the type of jewellery can all determine which karat may suit you best.
To offer our customers the choice, our Fine Jewellery is available in either 9ct or 18ct gold. While our main collections are made using a gold vermeil plate, these pieces can also be made in solid yellow or white gold.
As part of the bespoke process, we are more than happy to advise which karat may be best when creating a bespoke piece, particularly when choosing your Wedding and Engagement Rings.
Solid Gold Jewellery
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