Gold, 18 ct, 14 ct, 9 ct, rolled gold, gold plated and gold colour, when buying and travelling

Gold plating of a record. (Wiki)


Today I went looking for an explanation of rolled gold. Is it solid gold or gold plated? Neither. It is more durable than gold plated. However, I cannot wear it in a swimming pool and it is not durable enough to be worn all day and every day like a wedding ring. So you might see the word gold and think you are getting solid gold, but you are not. However, it is a bit more durable than gold plate. At least now I know what I am getting. 

Gold plating, and silver plating, are good for items which are untouched, such as a picture frame on a wall, where you want the shiny look, without an excessive cost.

Traditionally a wedding ring is solid gold because it is an investment. The wedding ring was also a symbol of the husband's wherewithal (his savings, income and generosity) and willingness to look after the bride to be who will be bearing children. (In the old days she might have been non-stop pregnant with up to 12 children, even with only 12, pregnant up to 20 times (with a few lost to miscarraige, misadventure or illness).

A gold ring worn all day and every day had to be durable. (The old rule about diamonds being worn after 6 pm, was when you stopped work so your hands would not be in and out of liquids and knocking against items which might dent or damage your jewellery.

In the UK there are various symbols which the jewellery company stamps into the gold when it is liquid as a guarantee to the customer. 925 is the amount of gold as opposed to the base metal. The base metal might be silver or copper.

My experience of a gold plated ring was that the plating wore off, leaving me with sharp pieces which rubbed against my finger, distracting me and making my finger sore.

On the other hand, you might want to travel with gold plate and leave the real gold at home, in a safe, so that in the event of loss or theft you would not lose so much. And the trip might be short enough for long term durability to be less of an issue if you put the proper ring back on later. 

When travelling you might want to keep a gold ring on a chain around your neck so that you don't leave it behind on a wash basin when washing your hands.

You can also conceal r ring by wearing gloves.

For a detailed and accurate explanation of gold, see the website on rolled gold below.

I didn't find wiki very clear or helpful.

Useful Websites

https://www.jewelryshoppingguide.com/what-is-rolled-gold/

https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Voyager_golden_record_gold_plating.jpg
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hallmark

https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/Category:Hallmarks_of_the_United_Kingdom

Please share links to your favourite posts.

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

How to repair a torn Mark & Spencer slip and make the hem wider, Post 294

Image
What is this? My repair.  I have a lovely shiny, smart black slip, from Marks & Spencers. It has a slit with pretty lace edging.  But it is slightly tight. It tore from the top of the slit, diagonally.  I looked for another slip. The ones I found onlin were twice the price and not in a satiny fabric. I wore it torn. I repaired it several times. It tore again.  I gave up. I wore it torn. Nobody sees. My husband saw. He complained. What could I do? It is useless to keep stitching it. It just tears again. I needed a new solution. I thought of adding a godet, a triangle of black fabric. I did not have anything to match. tht doesn't matter a godet is often a contrasting material. But that's when you have several godets and they look deliberate. I hunted in my sewing box. Boxes. All I had was teeny scraps of cloth in unsuitable fabrics. And ribbons. I thought about what I could do with the ribbons. They were not wide enough. But I could sew one each side of the slit. t...
Read more

Blue H & M Dress, dress of the day 393

Image
  Angela Lansbury wearing a blue background dress from H &M. Photo by Trevor Sharot. The Blue H & M Dress Blue background dress has a white pattern. Blues are hard to match. But I had a white blouse, so I wore this. On the internet and on Facebook you can see lots of videos of how to tie a scarf, but mine is simply hanging, which partly obscures the cleavage.  Cleavage cover I had a choice. To insert a dickey or false front, also called a removable or detachable collar. I have one or two which are plain white.  The alternative which saves hunting for a matching dickey without distracting collar colours and embrodiery, is simply to add a fastening. I decided that a snap or press stud fastener in small size is qhich to fasten and unlikely to pull apart (as opposed to hook and eye. I like velcro but it can scratch your skin, so the press stud was the right andwer. You have to get the two sides exactly measured up from the point of the V neck otherwide you end up with...
Read more

Period Pants from Marks & Spencer & More, post 345

Image
Period pants from Savida. Pants, UK. In the USA they would be called underpants. They come in two colours, black or dark blue with a mottled effect. They are triple layer. Could be useful for hiking and travelling. Or when you have a cough.  A pack of three full briefs for fifteen pounds. I then googled period pants and found lots of results.  Marks Marks & Spencer do a pack of three containing three different colours, black, white and pink, for sixteen pounds.  They also do different absorbencies. The options range though light, heavy, and extra heavy. And more styles, such as pantaloon style, like short tight shorts coming half way down your thighs. You can also buy leakproof swimwear with the brand name WUKA. Wikipedia has useful worldwide reviews of practices. Wiki picture. Useful search words (alphabetically):  A-D absorbent, absorbency adult diapers briefs,  cloth menstrual pads diapers E-K full briefs,  heavy absorbency,  heavy flow,  i...
Read more