{"id":1282,"date":"2010-09-12T08:26:57","date_gmt":"2010-09-12T12:26:57","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.jewelry-secrets.com\/Blog\/?p=1282"},"modified":"2015-05-06T20:19:09","modified_gmt":"2015-05-07T00:19:09","slug":"the-durability-and-hardness-of-metals","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.jewelry-secrets.com\/Blog\/the-durability-and-hardness-of-metals\/","title":{"rendered":"THE DURABILITY AND HARDNESS OF METALS"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"Metal<\/div>\n

The Hardness of Metals used for Jewelry varies quite a bit.<\/p>\n

\nYou’ll notice this when you look at your rings and see scratches<\/strong>. The ability to scratch an item depends on how durable or hard the item is.<\/p>\n

The harder the item, the less it will scratch!<\/strong><\/p>\n

The fact is;<\/strong> most Metals are fairly soft and can be scratched or dented easily. Anything that comes in contact with Jewelry that is harder than the Jewelry has the potential to scratch it.<\/p>\n

The Moh’s Scale of Hardness<\/h2>\n

\nThe Moh’s Scale of Hardness<\/strong> ranks minerals, materials, metals and Gemstones on a scale of 1-10. 10 being the best and the most durable… Diamond is a 10<\/strong>.<\/p>\n

\nGold and Silver on the other hand are only a 2.5 – 3 on the Moh’s Scale. They are fairly easy to work with<\/strong> (Jewelers love it) because they are so malleable. But, this also makes them bend, wear down and break easily. Not good!<\/strong> Especially since it’s holding in your Diamonds and Gems.<\/p>\n

\nThis is why most Jewelry found on the market is mixed with other Alloys that help strengthen the Metal<\/strong>.<\/p>\n

\n14k Gold is 14 parts Gold and 10 parts Alloy. 10k Gold is 10 parts Gold and 14 parts Alloy. Even Platinum isn’t exactly pure. It’s 99.5% pure…<\/p>\n

Base Metals and Alloys<\/h2>\n

\nBase Metals are a mix of various Metals that are used for Alloys<\/strong>. They are usually made up of small percentages of Metals like Nickel, Silver, Copper and Zinc. <\/p>\n

\nAlmost all Metals used in Jewelry are mixed with some Alloys to make them stronger and easier to work with.<\/p>\n

\nSome Metals, like White Gold, are then Rhodium Plated<\/strong> (Durable White Metal) that makes it even more durable and whiter at the same time.<\/p>\n

\nTake a look below and see the various metals like Platinum, Palladium, Titanium, Tungsten, Brass, Steel, Copper, Gold and Silver to see how they stack up to each other in terms of hardness.<\/p>\n

\nKeep in mind, this chart shows how strong the Metals are in their Pure State<\/strong>… Which means, when they are mixed with stronger Alloys, they will actually be much more durable. (Tungsten Carbide is already mixed)<\/p>\n

The Metals Scale of Hardness<\/h2>\n

\n<\/p>\n