375 Jewellery - 9 Karat Yellow Gold Jewellery Factfile (and finds!)
If you're a lover of jewellery like me you might have come across the term 375 jewellery and wondered what exactly 375 jewellery means. Well, wonder no more as in this post will give you the lowdown on 375 jewellery (a.k.a 9 karat yellow gold), a look at gold vs silver for your jewellery and show you some must have 375 jewellery pieces, read on!
Gold - Thousands of Years of Jewellery Making History
Gold is a native element and precious metal, it has long been prized for its beauty, resistance to chemical attack and workability. As it is found as a native element, it has a relatively low melting point (1063 degrees Celsius) and is malleable, it has been used by mankind in handmade jewellery making for thousands of years.
375 Jewellery a.k.a 9 Karat Yellow Gold
'375' gold is just one of many different types of hallmarks. Here's a closer look. If a gold product contains the hallmark '375', that means your gold is 9 karat – or 37.5 per cent pure. The remaining 62.5 per cent of the product is an alloy of different metals, like nickel, copper, or in some cases silver.
Karat Or Carat?
Did you know that there is a difference between Karat and Carat beyond the spelling? When talking about jewellery the Karat refers to the purity of jewellery whereas the Carat refers to the weight of a diamond or precious gem. 24 karat is the maximum purity level possible for gold, but it is too soft to work with alone, it needs to be mixed with other metals to make it stronger, hence 9kt, 14kt and 18kt, all mixed with different amounts of other metals.
Silver or Gold-Plated Jewellery?
So, now that we've a better understanding about what is 375 jewellery the question then becomes "why is 375 gold a good option over silver or gold-plated jewellery?". Some of the main advantages of 9 karat gold jewellery are:
- It doesn’t tarnish like silver and can be easily cleaned with a felt cloth.
- It looks great on Irish skin as it’s a paler yellow than 18 karat.
- It will last a life time and maintain its value.
- It’s cheaper than 14 or 18 karat yellow gold. Which makes it a good option when purchasing a piece that you can wear every day for a long period of time.
- 9 karat gold is much stronger than silver and much more durable.
My Opinion On 9 Karat Yellow Gold Jewellery
I like wearing it over silver or gold-plate as it can be worn in the sea and pool without discoloring like silver can. You still need to look after it though, you can clean it easily in soapy water or with a felt cloth.
It’s a brilliant option over gold plated pieces as gold plate does ware off after a time and needs to be re-plated. Gold plated pieces have a thin layer of gold over silver or brass and the price point reflects this as its usual only 20/40euros more than the silver price.
If you’re like me and wear your rings all the time, in bed too, going for a 9 karat yellow gold ring will last much better than silver or a gold plated piece.
This is one of the reasons why gold is used when making wedding rings as they need to be worn every day for a life time and stand the test of time.
Earrings and necklaces in gold-plate last longer than rings, but you will still find that the plate wears off, but at a slower rate than rings. So the bonus of going for 9 karat is that it will never lose its colour.
9 Karat Yellow Gold Examples
Some examples of 9 Karat yellow gold from my collections are highlighted for you below.
If you'd like to see more of my 9 karat gold pieces you can check out my full 9 carat gold jewellery collection here.
Emer Roberts
Emer Roberts is an extremely talented designer who I would also recommend highly. She does a beautiful wearable biology collection and an art deco, architectural style collection which is beautiful, all available in solid 9 karat yellow gold. Check out her 9kt gold collections here.