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Our jewelry is made exclusively of gold and blackened steel. Our gold is 18K, with the exception of the small bezels, which are 14 K, and we use our own alloys of white, rose and yellow gold. The steel is Cobalt Chrome, an alloy used in the medical industry for implants. It is incredibly durable, and most importantly, stainless and hypoallergenic. It will never rust or cause an allergic reaction.
The steel is blackened with heat; it is a type of oxidization. Like all oxides, it is a surface coloration that will soften with wear. Because the black will remain in the crevices and wear from the top surfaces, you can look forward to the texture of the jewelry becoming more apparent over time It can go in the ultrasonic and steamer, but cannot be polished. The most wear will show on rings, then bracelets. Necklaces and earrings, depending on how they are stored, will show less wear.
Our stones are all full cut diamonds; black, white and cognac. Our white diamonds are natural G-H color, VS clarity. Our cognac diamonds are also natural color, and our black diamonds are heat treated (NOT irradiated) for color uniformity.
We use both Tahitian and Akoya cultured pearls. The type of pearl is noted in the description of each piece of jewelry.
The diamonds come from a German supplier who gets the white and black diamonds from Africa and the cognac diamonds from Australia. Our diamonds are all certified conflict free. We purchase our gold from a refiner in Portland, Oregon, where we also send our used gold to be refined. All the gold we use is recycled.
No, we sell only through the many great stores and galleries who carry our jewelry, please see our list of locations. We are happy, though, to answer your questions and help you find exactly what you are looking for, so feel free to contact us.
Generally, no. We can sometimes make a steel ring a little larger by removing some the metal from the inside. How much depends on the thickness of the ring. A Pebble stacking ring, for example, can usually go up about ¼ size at most. We can sometimes add gold to the inside of a ring to make it smaller.
A great way to deal with the fluctuation of your finger size is to choose rings that are big enough to fit comfortably when your fingers are at their largest, then choose one ring that will always be on top that is slightly smaller, to hold the other rings on.
Yes, please contact your local gallery for a price quote.
We are happy to incorporate your vision into our pieces - if you like our jewelry in general, but want it just a bit different, or have your own stone you want to use, in most cases we are happy to accommodate your request.
We can make any of our white gold jewelry with palladium white gold, rather than nickel white gold, on request. Palladium is in the platinum family, which very few people are allergic to. The price varies, currently the price of palladium is relatively low and so the cost of a piece using this metal is not much higher than in nickel white gold.
99% of the time, this is caused by water getting trapped under the ring, and can easily be resolved by making sure your finger is totally dry every time you wash your hands. If you use lotion or soap, these will also get trapped under the ring, and will cause a rash. Ideally you should remove your ring before using soap or lotion, but if the ring does get dirty, soak it in extremely hot water and dish soap, then take an old toothbrush and gently brush away the dirt under running water. You should not do this with pearls or colored stones, though - take those rings to a jeweler for proper cleaning.
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© 2010 Sarah Graham Metalsmithing All Rights Reserved
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