Which Metal? Part 4: Durability
Another factor to consider is durability: how will the metal stand up to wear? How long will it last before it needs repair, or disintegrate? Consider archaeology — sometimes all we know about a prehistoric culture is in the gold objects they left. Pure gold is basically incorruptible, while silver will corrode quite easily. You may not care about what will happen to your jewelry after thousands of years, but the wearability of the metal will affect your choice of materials. A ring to be worn every day should probably be made of gold or platinum, rather than silver, especially if it is to be set with an expensive stone.
So what does all this technical information mean to the designer? It means that you need to understand the characteristics of the various metals so you can make intelligent choices.
To sum up:
- Gold or platinum should be used when durability is a prime consideration, such as a wedding and engagement set to be worn every day.
- Silver can be used in a large piece where lightness is important, since it will weigh less than gold.
- Thinner material can be used when working with gold, because it is stronger than silver, so 24-gauge sheet gold could be substituted for 20-gauge sterling silver sheet.
- Platinum has more tensile strength than gold, so thinner material can be used than if the piece were to be made of gold.