CARAT* Standard Gold Finish FAQ's

Because 24K or 1000Au gold is too soft to be considered for jewellery, especially for daily wear, and to avoid possible loss of stones, all CARAT* jewellery is made in 9K (375Au) gold.

As a standard we finish off all our jewellery in a manner befitting its quality, the same way the finest jewellers in the world do. We complement the gold nearest the stone with various color tones. This is done to give the featured stone a color boost and to almost hide the prongs with the color of the stone. This work is usually only done to the finest jewellery. At CARAT* we do this to all our jewellery where appropriate.

All our jewellery is stamped in the metric gold system 9K (375Au) and our company hallmark C*.

White Gold
White gold is gold mixed with other white metals such as silver and palladium. The result is a grey colored gold. In order to give the gold a "white look" it is plated with a platinum family metal called Rhodium. Rhodium is very, very hard, costs twice a much as platinum and four times as much as gold. It has a beautiful lustrous material but it does wear thin over time on rings. If you wear your ring everyday, expect that it should be re-rhodium plated approximately every 12 to 18 months. Most local jewellers are able to rhodium plate jewellery for a cost effective price.

Yellow Gold

Yellow Gold is mixed with yellow metals to make it strong enough for stone mounting and so that it will resist scratching. Our yellow gold mountings are polished to by hand. Like all gold jewellery Yellow Gold may need to be polished every 12-18 months depending on how often it is worn.