Precious Metals
| Stamping for Precious Metals: |
| Platinum items: |
950PT |
| Palladium items: |
950Pd |
| 18ct gold items: |
750 or 18kt |
| 14ct gold items: |
585 or 14kt |
| 9ct gold items: |
375 or 9kt |
| Sterling silver items: |
925 |
| Silver items: |
800 |
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| Stamping for other Metals: |
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| Stainless steel items: |
316L Stainless |
| Titanium items: |
Titanium |
Diamonds
The 4 c's are used to evaluate a diamond - carat, cut, colour, clarity. Diamonds are measured in carats (which are 1/5th of a gram). There are 100 points to one carat. Cut is one of the most important aspects to consider when choosing your diamond which determines the sparkle of the stone. The most popular diamond shape and cut used in jewellery is round with a brilliant cut. Other cuts include emerald, princess, triangle, marquise, pear, heart, radiant and oval. The colour is graded from D to Z. D is the top of the white range (the best colour) through to Z being a light yellow. Good colour is D (rare) and F, G and H (good high white range). Fancy coloured diamonds can range from green to red, blue, pink, canary yellow, orange and amber. The clarity of a diamond refers to how many imperfections or inclusions are in the stone seen with a loupe with 10 power magnification. These are measured as follows:
| FL: |
Flawless |
| IF: |
Internally Flawless |
| V VS1, V VS2: |
Very Very Slightly Imperfect |
| VS1, VS2: |
Very Slightly Imperfect |
| SI1, SI2: |
Slightly Imperfect |
Stones of the Month (other charts may have different gemstones)
| January: |
Garnet, Rose Quartz |
| February: |
Amethyst, Onyx |
| March: |
Aquamarine, Red Jasper |
| April: |
Diamond, Rock Crystal |
| May: |
Emerald, Chrysoprase |
| June: |
Pearl, Moonstone |
| July: |
Ruby, Cornelian |
| August: |
Peridot, Aventuerine |
| September: |
Sapphire, Lapis Lazuli |
| October: |
Tourmaline, Opal |
| November: |
Topaz, Tiger's Eye |
| December: |
Turquoise, Zircon |
Stones of the Zodiac
| Aquarius: |
Turquoise, Hawk's eye |
21 Jan - 18 Feb |
| Pisces: |
Amethyst, Amethyst Quartz |
19 Feb - 20 Mar |
| Aries: |
Red Cornelian, Red Jasper |
21 Mar - 20 Apr |
| Taurus: |
Rose Quartz, Orange Cornelian |
21 Apr - 20 May |
| Gemini: |
Tiger's Eye, Citrine |
21 May - 20 Jun |
| Cancer: |
Chrysoprase, Green Aventurine |
21 Jun - 20 Jul |
| Leo: |
Rock Crystal, Golden Quartz |
21 Jul - 22 Aug |
| Virgo: |
Yellow Citrine, Yellow Agate |
23 Aug - 22 Sep |
| Libra: |
Smokey Quartz, Orange Citrine |
23 Sep - 22 Oct |
| Scorpio: |
Blood-red Cornelian, Sard |
23 Oct - 22 Nov |
| Sagittarius: |
Blue Quartz, Chalcedony |
22 Nov - 21 Dec |
| Capricorn: |
Onyx, Quartz cat's eye |
22 Dec - 20 Jan |
