In Marta Carriedo Collection we design our jewels with sterling silver and 18 carats gold bath.
What is 925 silver or sterling silver?
Pure silver is a very malleable precious metal, this means that it is weak and can be easily damaged. Therefore, in the manufacture of jewelry, it is common to combine pure silver with other metals, such as copper, which improves strength and durability.
The most common alloy is 925, which combines 925 thousandths of silver or what is the same, 92.5% pure silver with 7.5% copper. This means that, if we divide the piece into 1,000 units, we will obtain 925 parts of pure silver and the rest of copper.
The 925 silver jewelry is considered as sterling silver.
What is 18 carats gold bath?
Bathing in gold is a process by which a small layer of gold covers a material, usually silver.
A carat determines the degree of purity of a precious metal, or what is the same, the concentration, by weight, of pure gold in a jewel. The most common is the 24k, 22k, 18k, 14k and 12k gold. Pure gold is 24 carats, but this type of gold, like silver, is very malleable and therefore fragile. In order for the jewel to maintain its shape, gold, silver and copper are combined to form what we call "yellow gold".
18 carats gold is the standard in most of the world and that gold quality does not oxidize. It consists of 75% pure gold and 25% other metals, or what is the same, if the 24 carats gold is 100% pure gold, if we divide our 18 carats gold piece into 24 parts, we would get 18 parts of pure gold.
It would not be possible to make a jewel of pure 24 carats gold because it would not keep its shape.
What is the contrast stamp?
In all our jewels you can see a small mark with the digits 925, which, as we explained above, is the metal alloy.
This is the hallmark contrast, a mark that is engraved on jewels made with precious metals to guarantee its purity, quality and authenticity.
It is not mandatory in all the jewels, only for those of great purity like the 925 silver or gold of first law.