Using Palladium in White Gold Jewelry Means No More Allergic Reactions
by: Jill Renee
White gold jewelry (http://www.danforthdiamond.com/jewelry/index.php) can cause allergic reactions in some people. This is due to the fact that the majority of white gold jewelry is manufactured using alloys containing nickel as the bleaching agent and a percentage of the population is allergic to nickel. For these individuals, contact with nickel can result in dermatological problems that range from a mild skin rash to severe open sores and permanent scaring. In Europe, there are laws governing the use of nickel in jewelry. The European law is known as "The Nickel Directive" and states that no nickel can be used in a material that sits in an open wound, such as after piercing, until healing is complete.
What is a jewelry buyer to do when faced with this information? First of all relax, most people do not have severe reactions to nickel. And jewelers are starting to use alloys that contain less nickel to develop white gold jewelry.
Some nickel-free white gold alloys were originally developed in the 1920s using palladium as the primary bleaching agent. Palladium is part of the platinum group of metals. It is a steel-white metal, does not tarnish in air, and is the least dense and lowest melting of the platinum group metals. Palladium has very good corrosion and tarnish resistance, and it mixes well with gold, offering almost complete homogenization throughout the range of gold-palladium compositions. All these factors make it a good choice for white gold jewelry manufacturing. It also yields alloys with excellent mechanical properties superior in many respects to the nickel-whites which can be difficult to work with and contain pockets of gold and nickel because the two metals don't like to be mixed. Jewelry made from a palladium/gold alloy will not result in allergic reactions.
You might be asking: "If palladium is so much better than nickel to make white gold, why don't all jewelers use it?" The answer is cost. Palladium is a bit more expensive to use. The cost of an ounce of palladium is around $300 currently and consumers don't like paying higher prices for what appears to be the same jewelry product. However, once people know the facts about nickel white gold and the allergic risks it presents many are willing to pay a little more.
Another white metal on the horizon is 950 Palladium. Some jewelry manufacturers are making product from new palladium alloys that can be cast into jewelry. This is a wonderful metal because it is a bright white color, very similar to platinum, but has a much lower price. It is still relatively new so jewelers are still learning how to work best with this metal. Keep your eyes open though, because you will soon be seeing more of this product, especially with the cost of platinum currently above $1,000 an ounce.
About The Author
Jill Renee, president of Danforth Diamond, a jewelry store offering platinum, white gold and yellow gold jewelry at http://www.danforthdiamond.com/jewelry/index.php. The Danforth family created the site to help you find the best value in quality jewelry.
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Features vs. Benefits vs. End Results
Features vs. Benefits vs. End Results
by: Karon Thackston
If you've been in the copywriting realm for very long at all, you've heard the phrase "features vs. benefits."
It's a fundamental copywriting principle and driving force behind much of what we, as copywriters, create.
But there's also another aspect to this equation.
What happens after customers buy your product or service?
Once they've used what you have to offer, what will be different in their lives?
What will the end results, of their buying decision, be?
Getting your customers to look at the end results of their actions can be an extremely powerful persuasion tool that you'll want to incorporate into your copy.
Let's look at features, benefits and end results and see how all three work individually and collectively to create a targeted push to the point of purchase.
Features - The Basic Outline of Your Product or...
Features vs. Benefits vs. End Results
Gold ring > Features vs. Benefits vs. End Results
Engagement Party Ideas To Wow The Crowd!
Engagement Party Ideas To Wow The Crowd!
by: Alexis Miller
He's proposed, and most likely you're flashing your new engagement ring. Now it's time to plan the celebration, but where do you start?
Your engagement party is the perfect setting for the families and friends of the bride and groom to meet each other if they haven't already done so. Make yourself available at the start of the event to greet all your guests and introduce everyone. Mingle as much as possible so that your guests feel comfortable and relaxed.
You can celebrate in style with a swanky black-tie cocktail party, or a formal sit-down dinner, or maybe a casual serve-yourself buffet is more your style. Whatever you choose, remember that many of your guests may not know each other so you want them to be able to mingle comfortably.
Once upon a time, engagement parties were usually held at the home of the bride's parents, but nowadays most couples like to host their...
Engagement Party Ideas To Wow The Crowd!
Gold ring > Engagement Party Ideas To Wow The Crowd!
How to Make a Christmas Wreath
How to Make a Christmas Wreath
by: Alice Stacy
One of the great joys of Christmas, is doing things together.
That includes everything from shopping and wrapping gifts, to cutting a tree, baking goodies, and making your own special decorations, like wreaths.
Even the children can help gather fir tips, and with a little help from parents, and some simple accessories like bows, bells, candy canes and berries from a discount store, they have great presents for aunts, uncles, grandparents and teachers.
Wreaths are made on a steel ring, with a good gauge wire.
Check with your local craft store to see if they carry the supplies you need, or if you'll need to order them online. This should be done a few months ahead of Christmas, in case it takes time to get the supplies.
However, the fir tips can't be gathered until late in the Fall.
The needles on fir trees need to "set", and the tree must have stopped...
Gold ring > How to Make a Christmas Wreath
Fashion Directions for 2006
Fashion Directions for 2006
by: Mary Bailis
Fashion styles are forever changing. What do this year's changes bring forth? Fashion is up and down and all around this year. Accessories are going to sizzle this summer, hemlines are going down a bit, pants waistlines are going up, necklaces are going down, scarves are fluid, earrings are dangling, handbags get soft, and belts are back. Feminine, sexy and sultry styles will keep those heads turning. Sheers, crocheted lace, silky satin and flowing gauze will be everywhere. Comfy cool and sexy, sounds like a great year for women!
Accessories are fabulous this year and are leaning in the arts & craft direction. We will start with necklaces. They are beady, long and plentiful. Where a single large beaded strand with artful beads or pair them up with several.
Long is where they are at as well as big and with interesting beads. Plastic, glass, wood, handmade, crocheted, and metal beads in all...
Gold ring > Fashion Directions for 2006
Color Theory for Fashionistias - Three Easy Steps to Perfect Color Every Time
Color Theory for Fashionistias - Three Easy Steps to Perfect Color Every Time
by: Carrie Johnson
Color is everywhere, in your clothes, in your jewelry. Color is life. Fashion and color coordination can make or break your carefuly planned outfit.
Here's a bit of color theory with a fashionista bent.
Primary colors
These are red, blue and yellow. In theory, you can make any color from these three primaries (except white, which is really an absence of color). In practice, it depends on what red, blue or yellow you start with, but we are not mixing paints here, so just remember that the primary colors are red, blue and yellow. You'll learn why in the next step.
The secondary colors are the colors you get from mixing equal amounts of any two primaries. (If the primaries are pure, mixing all three will give you black.)
The secondaries are purple, orange and green.
Now why do you care?
Well, primaries and...
Color Theory for Fashionistias - Three Easy Steps to Perfect Color Every Time
Gold ring > Color Theory for Fashionistias - Three Easy Steps to Perfect Color Every Time