While stones are optional on a piece of jewellery, metal is of primary necessity as it constitutes the architecture. Galerie Pénélope tells you more about the metals you may encounter in your quest for enlightened jewellery lovers, or to decipher the sometimes cryptic labels of jewellery dealers.
Precious metals
There are three of them: platinum, gold and silver.
Their use is regulated by the hallmark. A guarantee hallmark is a seal - found on precious metals, therefore, to certify the title (i.e. the proportion of precious metal in the work) or the origin. It is possible to find several hallmarks on the same coin. Moreover, for the same metal, the hallmarks vary according to the period and the origin.
Moreover, when selling old jewellery, if the hallmark is non-existent, it is necessary to have the jewellery (re)hallmarked by the "guarantee" which has its own repertoire.
A picture is worth a thousand words, below is the official summary table of the guarantee hallmarks.
There is also a master hallmark, which distinguishes the work of a jeweller. In the shape of a diamond, it bears the initials of its creator as well as a symbol of his choice.
We suspect that you are anxious to learn all about gold, but a little patience: we prefer to start by making you as sexy as Jean Harlow in the film Blonde platinum, a metal thirty times rarer.
Platinum
His name comes from the Spanish "platina", which means little money. In fact, the expression "manitas de plata", literally little silver hands, is the Iberian equivalent of our "fairy fingers" - and also a French guitarist of gypsy origin. Exploited only since the 19th century, platinum has intrinsic qualities of heat resistance, tenderness and elasticity. It comes in the form of steel-grey nuggets or flakes (Kévin, if you want to put flakes in Inès' life). Until the 19th century, only platinum from South America was mined. Today it is mined mainly in South Africa and Russia.
Louis XVI is said to have decreed that platinum was the only metal worthy of kings - the monarch knew a lot about jewellery: he would have offered Marie-Antoinette the famous "Queen's necklace" which would later become so scandalous. She refused, and would not take the Countess du Barry's crumbs (and then, a 2840 carat necklace is expensive per crumb).
Art Deco diamond solitaire 0.50 ct
On a less cheerful note, platinum was also used for military purposes during the First and Second World Wars. Its golden age in jewellery was simultaneous and it was used in particular for Art Deco frames.
Gold
Gold, on the other hand, is the most widely used material in jewellery for its intrinsic qualities - malleability, inalterability, and is also the most desirable.
Gustav Klimt, Danae, 1907, Leopold Museum, Vienna.
And since we're talking about desire, let's go back to Zeus who, in terms of cross-dressing, rivals in intelligence when it comes to 'seducing' his catches - in addition to taking on the appearance of his own daughter to achieve his ends with Calliope (we tell you about it in the article on the jewels of Artemis), he revisits a whole part of the bestiary: white bull, swan, eagle.
Danae is locked up in a tower of bronze by her father Acrisios because an oracle has told her that her unborn grandson will kill him. If you're into mythology, you know that no matter what happens, prophecies always come true - if there was no Oedipus complex, what could Freud have built his business on?
In order to visit Danae (i.e. abuse her - Klimt's painting is quite explicit), Zeus chooses golden rain. #balancetonZeus ?
Vintage yellow gold and diamond ring
The term gold comes from the Latin aurum. Unaffected by air and water when pure, it is the most malleable and ductile of all metals - it is found in solid rock, metallic veins and sediments. Gold was already present in ancient Egypt and in Greco-Roman antiquity, where it was used both as adornment and as currency. In pre-Columbian America, it was used to honour the gods. The metal is found in most countries of the world but is mainly mined in South Africa, the United States, Australia and Russia. In the middle of the 19th century, the discovery of a gold nugget in California triggered a real "gold rush".
The proportion of gold in a jewel is measured in carats (Kt). As gold is very soft, it is difficult to use it pure (24Kt), so an alloy is used, i.e. the incorporation of one or more elements to a metal in order to modify its attributes or give it new properties.
Antique openwork bracelet in yellow gold
18Kt gold, also known as 750/1000 gold, is the purest gold found in French jewellery. It is composed of 75% pure gold and equal proportions of copper and silver in the case of yellow gold.
But alloys can also be used to modify the colour of the gold.
In the case of 18Kt :
- white gold or white gold is composed of 75% gold, 15% palladium and 10% silver. The natural colour of the gold tends to stand out, so in addition to reading our care instructions you can entrust your jewel to a professional who will carry out a rhodium plating in order to give it back its original lustre
- Rose gold contains 75% pure gold, 20% copper and 5% silver. It is the copper that gives the gold its pink colour. There is also red gold, which is rarer and is composed solely of gold and copper.
- Finally, green gold is composed of pure gold, silver and cadmium. This gold is often found in antique jewellery. Discover an example here.
My passion for jewellery is more or less concomitant with the broadcasting of L'Agence Tous Risques in France and a fascination for Barracuda's multi-chain gold necklace. But then again, I'm not a stickler, so I could also be satisfied with this very nice negligee. Couldn't you?
Only 18Kt was allowed on the French market until 1994. At that time, the government allowed the use of alloys with a lower proportion of gold. In antique jewellery, it is not uncommon to find these combinations since international markets were not subject to the same regulations.
Among the most common, 14Kt is composed of 57.5% gold and 9Kt or 325 thousandths (325/1000) contains 32.5% pure gold.
The money
Catherine Deneuve in her "moon-coloured" dress, Peau d'Âne [musical film written and directed by Jacques Demy], 1970.
The last of the precious metals probably suffers from its ubiquity: being found on the entire surface of the globe, silver is a hundred times more widespread than gold and therefore more accessible, which would tend to make it less desirable. And how can it compete with gold, which can be yellow, pink, red, green or even grey-white!
However, did you know that traditionally, when a newborn child was christened, the godfather gave him a silver spoon? The metal, synonymous with wealth and good education, attested to the family's prosperity. It is from this custom that the expression "being born with a silver spoon in your mouth" comes.
Antique marquise ring in pink gold, silver and diamonds
Its name comes from the Latin "argentum" which has the same meaning. In its natural state, silver is often found mixed with other metals. Today, the main supply areas are America (Mexico, Peru, USA) and Russia.
Silver is one of the metals that mankind was able to extract and use very early on. In the 19th century, it was used in jewellery to set diamonds before being replaced by platinum and then white gold.
As soft as gold, silver is generally alloyed with copper. There are two main grades:
- First quality silver, 925 thousandths (925/1000) pure to 92.5%.
- The second grade silver, 800/1000, is 80% pure. From this titre onwards, we speak of solid silver.
Silver tends to scratch easily and to blacken. There are a number of products on the market to counteract the latter phenomenon. Coca-Cola would also work, but we wouldn't dare try it!
Antique Provencal diamond necklace
Vermeil is solid silver coated with gold (18kt or more). It is also considered a precious metal. It can be found in high fashion jewellery, often with designer brands. Sellers of classic jewellery will be more interested in gold-plated jewellery. But do you know the ancestor of the latter?
Non-precious metals
As precious metals are not accessible to all, non-precious metals are also used in jewellery to create so-called "imitation" or "costume" pieces.
The pompom
Its name comes from the eponymous hotel where it was developed by two goldsmiths at the end of the 18th century. A copper-based alloy designed to imitate gold, it was used until the second half of the 19th century before being supplanted by gold plating.
Steel tip jewellery
Resistant to mechanical stress and corrosion, stainless steel is one of the metals of choice for watchmakers. To make matters worse, this iron-based metal is entirely recyclable.
Steel point jewellery consists of a thin metal base plate onto which faceted steel studs have been riveted or screwed. Popular from the 18th century until the 1930s, the idea was that the faces would catch the light and sparkle like diamonds. The craze for this type of jewellery in France is said to be linked to Napoleon's marriage to Marie-Louise of Austria. The emperor is said to have given his bride a set of steel-tipped jewellery.
We don't believe it: firstly, because it seems that Napoleon was perceived as a Corsican peasant who had stolen the throne of the French monarchy, and this alliance with Marie-Louise was intended to legitimise his position; and secondly, because if we are to believe what he spent on this wedding, we are surprised that he skimped on the pebbles. More plausibly, this could be linked to the sumptuary laws aimed at restricting the consumption of luxury goods and reinforcing the social hierarchy.
Antique Flower comb with steel tips
However, knowing the legendary docility of the French, it is not known how much these laws were enforced. Whereas the Germans, when asked to exchange their precious metals for iron jewellery, Kein Problem!
Iron jewellery from Berlin
This patriotic impulse took place in the 19th century. Napoleon had conquered Prussia in 1806 and the Royal Berlin Foundry, which had been established two years earlier, fell into French hands. In order to participate in the country's economy, the German government asked its compatriots to exchange their jewellery and valuables for iron jewellery. Inspired by neo-classical, then neo-gothic and finally naturalist styles, the latter were made of an alloy of iron and carbon and covered with a layer of black lacquer. Most of them bear the inscription "I gave gold for iron" or "for the sake of our country" on the back, or a portrait of Frederick William III of Prussia.
The fashion quickly spread throughout Europe in the 1820s. Iron was used for historicising jewellery and, because of its black colour, it was also the metal of choice for mourning jewellery. mourning jewellery.
Unfortunately, we don't have any to offer you. These jewels, even if they have little value in terms of the material used, are a historical testimony and are rarely found on the market. So instead we present you this cameo in the same spirit.
We hope that you will find it easier to understand the differences in price or to know what exactly you are buying when you talk about 14 carats for example.
If you're starting a collection, all we hope is that one day you'll be able to compete with Mister T (the famous Barracuda from TheA-Team)!
