Great Jewellery gifts for the UK

Picking out diamonds?
So, had a crash course in diamonds! Now look for the rings that suit you! With or without one or more diamonds. We offer a wide choice of rings with diamonds. Do you already know what you want? Take a look at which Aller Spanninga jeweller is near you.

This article is written by Unsaid Library. Unsaid Library is a jewelry shop in Antwerp and the UK.

In gold jewellery the gold content is indicated by carat, but what is carat gold anyway? What is the difference between the types of carat gold, such as 9, 14, 18 and 24 carats? And how can you tell how many carats of gold there is in a ring? In this blog we explain all about it, so you can make the right choice when buying gold wedding rings!

How many carats is pure gold?
The term carat in gold indicates how much pure gold there is in a piece of jewelry. In a ring there is often a stamp that indicates how much pure gold is in the ring. Pure gold is expressed in 24 carats and contains 99.99% gold. However, pure gold is very soft and therefore flexible and sensitive to wear and tear. By adding other metals, the gold is hardened, creating different gold contents and different colours. This process is also called alloying. These additives are often copper, silver or palladium. By hardening the gold, it can be better processed. Pure gold is actually too soft to make jewelry and is therefore unsuitable for rings.

What does carat say about gold?
The ‘carat gold’ is a measure of the amount of fine gold in a ring. The height of the carat indicates how much pure gold a ring contains. The proportions are as follows:

8 carats: 33.3% pure gold, indicated by 333
9 carat: 33,75% pure gold, marked with 375
14 carat: 58.5% pure gold, marked with 585
18 carat: 75.0% pure gold, marked with 750
20 carat: 83,3% pure gold, marked 833
21.6 carats: 90.0% pure gold, marked with 900
22 carats: 91,6% pure gold identified by 916
24 carat: 99.99% pure gold, marked 999
In the Netherlands the vast majority of gold rings are made of 14 carat gold, followed by rings made of 18 carat or 9 carat gold. Do you have a ring made of 8 carat gold? Then it most likely comes from Germany. In the Netherlands 8 carat new is not sold, by law it may not be sold as gold.

Indication carat in gold rings
The higher the carat of the rings, the more gold it contains. In all 14 and 18 carat gold rings from 1.0 grams sold in the Netherlands there is a hallmark. All Spanninga rings of 14 carat are provided with the number 585 and an oak leaf, 18 carat rings are provided with the number 750 and a tulip. In addition, our A:S master sign in the rings, so you can see that it is a real Aller Spanninga ring.

Other common indications for 14 carat are: 14 k, 14 krt or 585/1000. This means that at 14 carat jewelry 585 parts of the 1000 are pure gold. In other words: when you have 100 grams of 14 carat gold, you have 58.5% pure gold in your hands.

This article is written by Unsaid Library. Unsaid Library is a jewelry shop in Antwerp and the UK.

Gold and the Dutch law
Dutch law is strict in what may and may not be called gold. It requires that the designation ‘gold jewellery’ may only be used if the content is at least 14 carats.

In the Netherlands most suppliers work with 14 carat gold. A 14 carat ring is hard enough to last a lifetime with normal use. Rings made of 18 carat gold are seen as the more luxurious jewelry. Jewelry made from 9-carat gold is not officially seen as gold jewelry in the Netherlands. 9 carat rings can be inspected with the CCM quality mark, the international mark, but this is not obligatory for the Netherlands.

Aller Spanninga delivers all rings with a hallmark and an A:S master sign, also the 9 carat rings and rings of Palladium 585. If you buy an Aller Spanninga ring with this master sign in it, you can be sure that the ring is original.

How is that abroad?
In countries around us, rings and jewellery with a lower gold content, for example 8 or 9 carats, are regularly offered. In Germany and England this is quite normal, 9 carat is sold as gold in these countries. Here the rings are also mandatory inspected. In Belgium a hallmark is not mandatory.

In countries around the Mediterranean Sea, in the Middle East and Asia we often see gold of a higher carat. So gold jewelry of 18, 20 and 22 carat gold. The higher the carat, the ‘deeper’ the gold color of a piece of jewellery.

Ring production
With pure gold you have the certainty that there is no added metal in the alloy. As mentioned before, pure gold is very soft. In fact, it is so soft that wearing it will cause a lot of damage. The material