Precious Metals Used in Jewellery

In the jewellery industry, three main precious metals are widely used: Gold, Platinum, and Silver. These metals are often called noble metals because they are highly stable and naturally resistant to oxidation and corrosion. This makes them ideal for creating long-lasting and beautiful jewellery

Why Alloys Are Used in Jewellery

Pure precious metals are usually soft, which makes them less practical for everyday jewellery. To improve strength and durability, jewellers mix precious metals with other metals. This mixture is called an alloy. Using alloys helps to:
1. Make jewellery stronger and more durable
2. Improve resistance to scratches and wear
3. Create designs that are suitable for daily use
For example, mixing metals with gold makes it more durable while still maintaining its luxurious appearance.

Modern Metals in Jewellery Design

In recent years, the jewellery industry has expanded beyond traditional precious metals. Modern jewellery designers now use additional metals to create innovative, high-tech, and trendy wearable designs. Another reason for using these metals is to reduce the overall production cost while maintaining quality and style. The most popular modern metals include:
Stainless Steel
Titanium
These metals are especially popular in men’s jewellery because they are strong, stylish, and highly resistant to wear.

Jewellery Metals Used by Gallery Diamond

  • At Gallery Diamond, different collections use carefully selected metals to ensure both beauty and quality.
  • GD Creations – Classic Diamond & Fine Jewellery
  • Crafted using 18kt Gold
  • Also available in Platinum
  • GD Trends – Exclusive Light Gift Collections
  • Made with Sterling Silver 925 or 950
  • Some designs combine 18kt Gold with Sterling Silver
  • Depending on the design concept, certain collections may also include Stainless Steel or Bronze to create unique and modern jewellery pieces.

Gold Purity Guide for Jewellery

Pure 24kt gold is naturally very soft, which makes it unsuitable for jewellery manufacturing. To make gold strong enough for everyday jewellery, it is mixed with other metals. This process creates gold alloys and reduces the purity to more practical levels such as 18kt, 14kt, or 9kt.
By mixing gold with other metals (alloys), jewellers can improve strength, durability, and usability, while still maintaining the beauty of gold.

Gold Purity Guide for Jewellery

Jewellery Karat (kt) Gold Purity Comments
24kt 1000 Pure gold. Very soft and not suitable for jewellery manufacturing.
22kt 916 Mostly used for plain yellow gold jewellery. Rarely used for diamond or gemstone settings.
18kt 750 Popular for diamond jewellery and luxury fine jewellery because of its perfect balance of purity and strength.
14kt 585 Lighter in weight and more affordable. Often used for commercial diamond jewellery.
9kt 375 Contains less pure gold but is very popular for affordable gift jewellery and commercial collections.

Common Alloys Used with Gold

To strengthen gold and change its color, jewellers commonly mix it with metals such as:
Copper
Silver
Palladium
Zinc
For white gold jewellery, metals like silver and palladium are typically used. Some manufacturers also add a very small percentage of nickel to enhance the white color.
However, nickel may cause skin allergies, so in the European Union (EU) its use is strictly limited and only allowed in very tiny percentages in jewellery manufacturing.

Different Types of Gold Jewellery

Gold jewellery is available in different colors depending on the alloys used.

White Gold

Mixed with alloys like palladium, zinc, or copper to create a white tone.

Yellow Gold

Produced by combining pure gold with silver and copper.

Pink (Rose) Gold

Made by alloying gold mainly with copper to get a rose tone.

Platinum in Jewellery

Platinum is considered one of the purest and most prestigious precious metals used in the jewellery industry. It is naturally soft, which makes it ideal for diamond settings, allowing diamonds and gemstones to be securely placed in jewellery pieces.
Platinum jewellery is also known for being strong, dense, and extremely durable, making it more resistant to wear compared to gold and silver. Because of its high purity, platinum jewellery rarely causes skin allergies, making it a great choice for people with sensitive skin.
To improve strength and performance in jewellery production, platinum is usually combined with small amounts of other metals known as alloys.

Common Alloys Used in Platinum Jewellery

The most common alloys used with platinum include:
Iridium
Ruthenium
Platinum alloys
These metals help maintain platinum’s durability while preserving its natural white colour and premium quality.

Platinum Jewellery Classification

Platinum Jewellery Classification Composition Alloys Commonly Used
Pt 1000 Pure platinum -
Pt 950 95% platinum & 5% alloy Ruthenium, Iridium, Platinum
Pt 925 92.5% platinum & 7.5% alloy Ruthenium, Iridium, Platinum

585 Platinum Jewellery

Another option available in the market is 585 platinum jewellery.
This type of jewellery is created by mixing:
58.5% pure platinum
41.5% cobalt and copper alloys
585 platinum jewellery is a good option for people who experience allergies with certain metals, because it maintains similar hypoallergenic properties to pure platinum.
At the same time, it is more affordable compared to higher-purity platinum jewellery, making it an attractive choice for many customers.

Silver in Jewellery

Silver is one of the most popular precious metals used in jewellery. It is valued for its bright white shine, elegance, and affordability compared to other precious metals.
Pure silver is naturally very soft, which makes it less suitable for everyday jewellery. To improve its strength and durability, silver is usually mixed with small amounts of other metals, most commonly copper. These mixtures are called alloys.
In general, the lower the purity of silver, the harder and stronger the metal becomes, making it more suitable for jewellery production.

Silver Jewellery Classification

Silver Jewellery Classification Silver Purity Alloys Commonly Used Comments
1000 Pure silver - Very soft pure silver
950 95% pure silver + 5% alloys Copper Used for jewellery
925 (Sterling Silver) 92.5% pure silver + 7.5% alloys Copper Used for jewellery and houseware gifts

Sterling Silver

Sterling Silver (925) is the most commonly used silver standard in jewellery.
It is created by mixing 92.5% pure silver with 7.5% copper, which significantly improves the metal’s strength and durability. This combination also enhances the metallic shine and finish of the jewellery surface.
Because of its balance between beauty, durability, and affordability, sterling silver is widely used for:
Jewellery pieces
Gift collections
Decorative houseware items

Gallery Diamond created this precious metal guide to help you understand the different metals used in jewellery. It will also help you recognise the metal purity stamps engraved on your jewellery pieces, so you can choose the right metal with confidence.

We hope this guide is helpful and we look forward to helping you find the perfect jewel for you.