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Gold:
Gold and platinum are the primary metals in which we manufacture our jewelry.
The color of gold depends upon the amount of alloys which are added, in order to increase it's hardness for use in jewelry. Silver, platinum, nickel, or zinc are added to increase its color to white, or "white gold". Copper is added to achieve rose or "rose/pink gold". The purity of gold is determined by its karat weight. Fourteen karat (14k) gold is 14 parts of gold and 10 of parts alloy, which equivalent to 0.583% of pure gold. Eighteen karat (18k) gold is 18 of parts gold and 6 of parts alloy, which equivalent to 0.750% of pure gold. These are the most common grades of gold sold in the US. 24kt. gold is the purest and softest available, as well as the most expensive of the family of gold. 24kt. gold also has the standard of 999 or 99.9 in percentage of purity. White gold is a popular and new fashion style that many individuals are now investing in. White gold is not actually white in color. It is created from gold and a combination of different alloys. White gold is still gold, so it reflects a light shade of yellow. In order to acheive the elegant look of white gold, there is a process in which the gold must undergo. This process is the final step in creating a white gold piece. The process begins with the piece being dipped into the alloy Rhodium. This then, gives the piece a Rhodium plated exterior or "white gold" appearance. The Rhodium process provides the piece with a white luster with no visible yellow shade. Though the plated gold cannot be chipped, the process is not permanent and the Rhodium does wear off over time. So in order to keep the white gold appearance, the piece must be re-rhodiumed to renew the plating. The process must be repeated anywhere from six months to one year. But that is just an estimate, different factors come into effect such as: body oil, amount of work with hands, different chemicals that come into contact, and so on. Platinum:
Platinum is the rarest and by far the most expensive of all precious metals. It can take as much as a ton of ore to refine one ounce of platinum for use in jewelry. Platinum is a very dense as well as heavy metal, and is extremely difficult to achieve the heat needed to melt and design with this metal. Another quality of platinum is its softness, which makes it perfect for carving into very intricate and lacy designs, once it has been refined. Settings:
Prong setting - Prongs are metal bars that are attached to the ring and wrap around the sides of the diamond with grooves where they fold over the top of the stone slightly holding the it in place. This is the most common setting seen because of the fact that it does not cover the entire stone and allows for most of the stone to be seen. Smaller stones require only four prongs and the number of prongs increase as the size of the stone increases. A large stone can have up to six prongs for security. Channel setting - channel settings are both sides of metal bars that hold stones in placed. It allow stones to be set along side each other or one stone itself. The design of this setting is created by cutting grooves into the inner lining of the metals for the stones to be placed. Many manufacturers will use machines to cut these grooves, but we here at North-South Jewelry Co. have our skilled jewelers cut them by hand giving them a beautiful craftsmanship. Bezel setting - This setting is similar to the channel except that it features only one stone at a time, and the metal rim that encircles the stone to secured with grooves are cut into the inner lining of that metal rim in a circle to fit the size of the stone. Pave setting - The pave setting is popular for its glitter appearance. Stones are embedded into the metal and are literally paved into the metal itself. Beaded Pave Setting - What makes this setting different is that, there are beaded lines around the paved stones to give the setting an elegant antique look to the piece. Pre-set setting - This is the latest style that is a cross between the prong setting and the pave setting. The stones are paved but the prongs are still noticeable. Invisible setting - In this popular setting, all stones are hold in placed by two outside metal bars. The inner lining of these metal bars has grooves cut into them for stones as well. But there are at least two or more rows of stone to be set side by side without any metal in between any of them. And each stone must include grooves individually so they inter lock to one another. This invisible setting most commonly uses diamonds, rubies and sapphires because of its hardness of stones. Also, the most common shape for this design is the princess cut. Development Process:
Design - The first step to developing jewelry is to have a design in mind. These designs are created from ideas, pictures from magazines, catalogs, and other competitors. We use pictures taken from our staff to better assists the customer with clearity of the design. Our merchandise are always up to date with current fashions trends allowing us to keep you, the customer, satisfied with every purchase. Custom designs are also available to any customer. All we ask is that you come in contact with us to discuss the design in mind and create an image for our jewelers to ensure the exact design. 
Wax Molding - Next we go on to create a wax molding of the design to ensure precise accuracy with as little flaws as possible. If this is a custom design we use this wax as a three dimensional image of the finish product.  Casting - The process of casting is when liquid material is poured into an empty cavity shaped in a desired form. The liquid is then left to harden and then the shell is broken off and the process is finished. Cleaning - After casting the design, we continue on to clean the ring to better display the quality of the gold and remove any unwanted materials left behind. Polishing - We polish the gold afterwards to bring out the luster and rich color of the gold no matter what grade the gold. Settings - If your design includes any sort of stone, we must then continue on to install prongs for the stone. This involves a great deal of skill to ensure that the stone is straight, leveled, and most importantly that it is secure. Because most of the time, the stone cost more than the entire piece itself. So our jewelers carefully tighten the stone down. Quality Control - Before any of our merchandise is sent out we thoroughly inspect them to make sure that the stones are tight and that the piece meets our standards of top quality products or else we must reset the stone or adjust the prongs. Also in doing this the customer can feel safe in knowing that his/her stone is safe from untimely collisions that may knock the stone loose.
Maintaining Beautiful Jewelry: 1. First of all, Jewelry should not be thrown together into one container. Jewelry can be scratched by other jewelry because of gold and stones. 2. Scratches can be polished off, but polishing too often will eventually thin down the gold. 3. Be cautious to not use any harmful chemicals near your jewelry. 4. Avoid performing heavy duty activities (yard work for example) when wearing jewelry to prevent denting, scratching and further damaging your jewelry. 5. Always put your jewelry on last especially pearl, after make up, perfume or hairspray. These products can cause the luster of the pearl and dull up your jewelry.
6. Do not use hot/warm solution for these precious stones: emerald, opal, pearl, onyx, lapiz, and tanzanite. These stones are soft.
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