Educate Yo'Self!

Posted by Sierra Otto on October 9, 2017

Educate Yo'Self!

A SIERRA WINTER JEWELRY GLOSSARY

One time, my mother (Sierra Winter Jewelry's biggest fan) was helping me at a trunk show. A customer came up to the booth and was eyeing the Buffalo Mound Earrings and my Mom said to me, "Sierra, don't you think you should tell her that those earrings are 24K gold?" I smiled and replied, "No. Because they aren't."

Here are my parents being the big fans they are

Whether its a new car, home, fancy cat, or jewelry, it's important to educate yourself on whatever it is you are interested in buying before you fork over your money. I want my customers to know what they are paying for and investing in so here are some terms you should know!

STERLING SILVER

Sterling Silver is an alloy containing 92.5% by weight of fine silver and 7.5% by weight of other metals, usually copper. Sterling Silver is my jam, therefore, it makes up a majority of the line. Sterling Silver will naturally oxidize with exposure to air and other elements, to care for it, read the Jewelry Care: 101 Blog post.

Bluestem Earrings

Thunderhead Necklace

Buffalo Mound Earrings

GOLD VERMEIL

Gold Vermeil is Sterling Silver that has been gold-plated. Our Gold Vermeil is plated with 2.5 Microns of 14K-18K gold. This is a good combination for those with allergies to plated jewelry items. Like Sterling Silver, Gold Vermeil will sometimes tarnish. Give it some loving with a polishing cloth from time to time to keep it looking fresh.

Diamond Back Earrings

Opal Eve Necklace

Bandit Earrings

14K GOLD

24K Magic by Bruno Mars is awesome. I occasionally get down to it.

... that just sounded raunchy. I mean I get down on the dance floor to it. And not very well. I'm a bad dancer.

24 Karat gold is gold in its purest form. We use 14K gold around here. 14K amounts to 58.3% pure gold and the rest can be made up of metals such as copper, nickel and zinc. 14K gold is the most common type of gold used in the US and is more durable than higher carats because of its chemical make up. #science. We use both 14K Yellow and Rose Gold in the line.

Primrose Diamond Earrings

Evil Eye Necklace

Luna Earrings

SEMI-PRECIOUS STONES

Semi precious stones are basically stones that are not precious stones...

... let me elaborate. Diamonds, sapphires, emeralds, rubies and other rare gemstones are classified as precious stones. All other gemstones are classified as semi-precious. These would be stones like turquoise, opal, malachite, onyx, lapis, quartz, amethyst, freshwater pearl, jade, etc. Semi-precious stones are found in our Eve pieces, Sahara pieces, Bluestem Earrings, and Eclipse pieces just to name a few.

Eve Earrings

Sahara Earrings

Twilight Earrings

POLKI-CUT DIAMOND

Many moons ago, I got an amazing opportunity to go to India. While I was there, I ate amazing food, toured jewelry manufacturing facilities, and fell in love with Indian culture and Polki Diamonds. I had a Polki Diamond necklace made for myself and didn't take it off until I designed the Primrose Diamond Necklace. Now I never take that off. Polki Diamonds are from Mughal-Era of Indian history and is a slice of diamond, faceted around the edges, and backed with silver foil to reflect light off of the facets. Traditionally these diamonds are set in 24K gold. Ours are set in 14K gold with prongs.