How can I view the status of my order?
Go to the Customer Service, Account Information page. This page lists all your orders. Click the date of the order whose status you wish to view.
What are your shipping costs?
Just click on the option you prefer and we will ship your pieces to you. We pay for the shipping to you by insured Priority Mail. If you need the pieces by the next day or two, we will pay the Priority Mail amount toward the UPS or FedEx shipping charges. For international orders, please contact us for pricing.
About Metals: Definitions and Information
What are Elements and Alloys?
Metals can be elements or alloys. Elements are the basic building blocks of chemistry. Oxygen, nitrogen, hydrogen, iron, copper and niobium are all examples of elements. Alloys are mixtures of various elements. Alloys can be a "base" (less costly) metal, like brass, or a "precious" (more costly) metal, like sterling silver.
Lead (Pb) is an element that was traditionally popular as an ingredient in alloys because it makes metals softer and helps them melt at lower temperatures. Lead is now known to be related to certain health problems (especially in children), and governments have begun to regulate allowable amounts of lead in jewelry components. Jewelry components containing lead are generally considered safe for adults to handle and wear externally.
Common alloys include:
Brass is an alloy of copper, zinc and sometimes other metals. It is typically 70% copper and 30% zinc. Our red brass wire is 90% copper, and 10% zinc, which gives it a slightly warmer color.
Nickel silver, sometimes called German silver, is a base-metal alloy of nickel, copper and zinc. It does not contain sterling silver, although it is silver in color. Our nickel silver wire is 65% copper, 18% nickel, and 17% zinc.
Stainless steels (a.k.a. corrosion-resistant steels) include a broad range of iron-based metals. The name is generic for any steel alloy with a minimum of 11.5 wt% chromium. Common types or grades include 440, 304L, 316L and 904A. In all types, the chromium creates a very thin chromium-oxide layer on the surface of the steel which prevents it from rusting. The advantage of stainless steels over plated steels is that, if scratched or damaged, the stainless steel 'self-repairs' as a new chromium-oxide layer is formed. In plated steels, scratches in the plating can lead to corrosion of the steel underneath. In general, the higher percentage of chromium, the stronger the corrosion resistance of the steel. Other metals are added to the alloy to give the steel other properties, such as strength and malleability. Nickel is added to strengthen the protective oxide layer.
Surgical stainless steels include a narrower group of metals which, while wearable by the majority of the population, do contain a small amount of nickel (to which some people are allergic), usually 8% in jewelry.
What are Base Metals?
Base metal is a catch-all term in the jewelry industry for metals used in costume jewelry. In metal working, base metal is any metal that is not one the noble or precious metals. In costume jewelry, base metals are often plated with a very thin layer of gold, silver, nickel, rhodium or other metal. Many plated items are plated first with copper, underneath the final plating. Many gold-plated items have a white nickel plate under the final gold plate.
Common base metals include:
Raw Brass (unplated brass) components are usually the same color as yellow (plated) findings, although they will vary in color. Their surfaces may be imperfect and their finish may change with age. Raw brass looks best with yellow-plated components, but may also work with gold plate. Anti-tarnish brass (a proprietary alloy) looks very close to the color of 14kt gold.
Copper is a bright reddish-orange metal. Over time, it will darken and gain a patina, sometimes with a greenish hue. Copper can also discolor skin, most commonly when it is worn snugly like a finger ring or tight-fitting bracelet. Copper is a soft metal, which makes it great for wire wrapping. Because of softness, solid copper components are less durable than copper-plated beads and findings.
Pewter includes any of the numerous silver-gray alloys of tin with various amounts of antimony and copper. TierraCast™ products are made with a lead-free pewter (Bruttania metal). Most have a surface finish (plating) over the pewter. Other base-metal items marked "antiqued pewter" or "antiqued brass" may be brass or zinc with an antiqued pewter or antiqued brass plating. In nearly all cases, these zinc or brass alloys meet lead-free criteria.
"White metal" and "pot metal" are terms for tin-based alloys used in low temperature casting of costume jewelry components. White metal castings are usually three-dimensional rather than flat and are often plated. The exact composition of white metal varies, because each casting foundry and shop uses its own proprietary formula. Stamped findings are typically made from brass or copper clad steel sheet. Stamped findings may be plated and are usually one sided, often flat or slightly domed. See platings for more about the color of white metal.
Nickel silver is silver in color, but does not contain any sterling silver. The relatively inexpensive cost of nickel silver compared with sterling makes it an attractive option for jewelry components. Just be aware that some people are allergic to nickel.
Surgical steel findings are slightly more gray than white findings, but the difference is barely noticeable, especially on finished jewelry. Surgical steel does not match sterling or silver plate well. See platings for more information on the colors of base-metal components.
What are Precious Metals?
The term precious metals usually means platinum, gold or silver. Some years, market "spot" prices of precious metals like gold and silver fluctuate greatly. An immediate effect will be noticed in sterling, gold filled and 14kt gold wire, sheet, beads and findings. If prices remain particularly high (or low), there will be a similar (but smaller) effect in the prices of silver-plated and gold-plated (base metal) items. More info on metal markets and our prices.
Precious metals
Sterling silver, sometimes stamped .925, is an alloy of at least 92.5% silver, and (usually) copper. It is a soft, easy to work with metal, which can be antiqued to a dark black or polished to a bright shine.
Fine silver, sometimes stamped .999, is at least 99.9% pure silver, which means it is softer and more malleable than sterling. It also tends to take longer to tarnish. Our Karen Hill Tribe fine silver is handcrafted in remote villages using traditional silver-smithing techniques. Fine silver is compatible with Art Clay™ silver metal clay.
Karat (kt) gold: Pure gold is 24kt, meaning 24 out of 24 parts are gold. 24kt is too soft to be functional, so it is alloyed with other metals for durability, cost and color. 14kt is 14 parts gold out of 24, and the remaining 10 parts are other metals. Depending on the color of gold (which can be yellow, rose, green or white), the other parts may be copper, silver, nickel, zinc, tin, palladium and/or manganese. People with nickel allergies should be aware that white gold contains nickel. All of the karat gold we carry is yellow gold.
Gold fill (also called gold overlay) is made by using heat and pressure to apply a layer of karat gold to a base of less costly metal. This produces a surface with karat gold. The minimum layer of karat gold must equal at least 1/20 of the total weight of the item.
Gold-filled tubing and wire are usually seamless, so only gold touches the body. Gold-filled sheets of base metal, used to make other findings, can be either single clad (gold on visible side only) or double clad (gold on both sides and sometimes the edge). Seamless and double clad gold-filled items are less likely to discolor, since the base metal is sealed inside the gold. However, the layer of gold on a single clad 1/20 gold-filled item is as thick (and the same total weight) as the two layers of gold on a double clad 1/20 gold-filled item. Use care when buffing gold-filled items, to avoid removing the gold layer.
The surface layer of karat gold on gold-filled items is usually 10kt, 12kt or 14kt. To know the thickness of the layer, look for a fraction, such as 1/10 or 1/20. It will be 1/20 unless otherwise stamped. Examples:
1/10 10kt GF: 1/10 of the total weight must be 10kt gold.
1/20 12kt GF: 1/20 of the total weight must be 12kt gold.
Vermeil, pronounced "vehr-MAY," is a plating of karat gold over sterling silver.
What are Platings?
A plating is a thin deposit of metal that is electrochemically or otherwise appplied to the surface of a different metal base. "White," "yellow," "silver plate" and "gold plate" are somewhat ambiguous terms when you're trying to determine whether or not the clasp in your hand will match the clasp listed in a catalog. Here are our definitions, which are fairly standard throughout the jewelry industry:
White is the silver color that you most often see on costume jewelry and base-metal findings. White-plated components are generally a bit grayer, but also more durable, than silver-plated components. White TierraCast® items are plated with rhodium, which is brighter and more silvery than other white-plated items.
Yellow is a gold-colored plating that is slightly brassier, but longer lasting, than gold plate. Yellow finishes go best with raw brass.
Silver plate is a thin surface layer of silver color or actual silver. It nicely matches the color of sterling silver; it doesn't quite match our white findings. Like sterling silver, silver plate will tarnish. For this reason, it's frequently lacquered to prevent tarnish (until the lacquer wears off).
Gold plate is a very thin deposit of gold color, or actual gold (about 1/1,000 - 1/1,000,000 of an inch). The color matches 14kt gold. Heavy gold electroplate might be 2 or 3/1000s of an inch thick (this can also be written as 2 or 3 mils).
Copper plate is a bright, shiny copper plating. Because the metal underneath the plating is usually a harder metal than copper, copper-plated components tend to be more durable than solid copper parts.
Antiqued pewter (AP) is a pewter-colored plating that has been darkened to provide a "distressed" (oxidized) appearance. Some AP items are matte, while others are shiny.
Antiqued silver (AS) is a silver or silver-colored plating that has been darkened to provide a "distressed" (oxidized) appearance.
Antiqued gold (AG) is a gold or gold-colored plating that has been darkened to provide a "distressed" (oxidized) appearance.
Antiqued brass (AB) components typically have a brass or zinc base with a brass plating. The crevices of antiqued brass beads, charms and findings are darkened to give them a "distressed" (oxidized) appearance.
Antiqued copper (AC) is a copper plating that has been darkened to provide a "distressed" (oxidized) appearance.
Gunmetal is black nickel plating, which often looks antiqued.
Gilt is a very thin finish of gold color (not actual gold).
Vermeil, pronounced "vehr-MAY," is a plating of karat gold over sterling silver.
What's the Difference between Gold Plate and Gold Fill?
Gold fill is 50 to 100,000 times thicker than regular gold plating, and about 17 to 25,000 times thicker than heavy gold electroplate.
(Information courtesy of Rings & Things)
Go to the Customer Service, Account Information page. This page lists all your orders. Click the date of the order whose status you wish to view.
What are your shipping costs?
Just click on the option you prefer and we will ship your pieces to you. We pay for the shipping to you by insured Priority Mail. If you need the pieces by the next day or two, we will pay the Priority Mail amount toward the UPS or FedEx shipping charges. For international orders, please contact us for pricing.
About Metals: Definitions and Information
What are Elements and Alloys?
Metals can be elements or alloys. Elements are the basic building blocks of chemistry. Oxygen, nitrogen, hydrogen, iron, copper and niobium are all examples of elements. Alloys are mixtures of various elements. Alloys can be a "base" (less costly) metal, like brass, or a "precious" (more costly) metal, like sterling silver.
Lead (Pb) is an element that was traditionally popular as an ingredient in alloys because it makes metals softer and helps them melt at lower temperatures. Lead is now known to be related to certain health problems (especially in children), and governments have begun to regulate allowable amounts of lead in jewelry components. Jewelry components containing lead are generally considered safe for adults to handle and wear externally.
Common alloys include:
Brass is an alloy of copper, zinc and sometimes other metals. It is typically 70% copper and 30% zinc. Our red brass wire is 90% copper, and 10% zinc, which gives it a slightly warmer color.
Nickel silver, sometimes called German silver, is a base-metal alloy of nickel, copper and zinc. It does not contain sterling silver, although it is silver in color. Our nickel silver wire is 65% copper, 18% nickel, and 17% zinc.
Stainless steels (a.k.a. corrosion-resistant steels) include a broad range of iron-based metals. The name is generic for any steel alloy with a minimum of 11.5 wt% chromium. Common types or grades include 440, 304L, 316L and 904A. In all types, the chromium creates a very thin chromium-oxide layer on the surface of the steel which prevents it from rusting. The advantage of stainless steels over plated steels is that, if scratched or damaged, the stainless steel 'self-repairs' as a new chromium-oxide layer is formed. In plated steels, scratches in the plating can lead to corrosion of the steel underneath. In general, the higher percentage of chromium, the stronger the corrosion resistance of the steel. Other metals are added to the alloy to give the steel other properties, such as strength and malleability. Nickel is added to strengthen the protective oxide layer.
Surgical stainless steels include a narrower group of metals which, while wearable by the majority of the population, do contain a small amount of nickel (to which some people are allergic), usually 8% in jewelry.
What are Base Metals?
Base metal is a catch-all term in the jewelry industry for metals used in costume jewelry. In metal working, base metal is any metal that is not one the noble or precious metals. In costume jewelry, base metals are often plated with a very thin layer of gold, silver, nickel, rhodium or other metal. Many plated items are plated first with copper, underneath the final plating. Many gold-plated items have a white nickel plate under the final gold plate.
Common base metals include:
Raw Brass (unplated brass) components are usually the same color as yellow (plated) findings, although they will vary in color. Their surfaces may be imperfect and their finish may change with age. Raw brass looks best with yellow-plated components, but may also work with gold plate. Anti-tarnish brass (a proprietary alloy) looks very close to the color of 14kt gold.
Copper is a bright reddish-orange metal. Over time, it will darken and gain a patina, sometimes with a greenish hue. Copper can also discolor skin, most commonly when it is worn snugly like a finger ring or tight-fitting bracelet. Copper is a soft metal, which makes it great for wire wrapping. Because of softness, solid copper components are less durable than copper-plated beads and findings.
Pewter includes any of the numerous silver-gray alloys of tin with various amounts of antimony and copper. TierraCast™ products are made with a lead-free pewter (Bruttania metal). Most have a surface finish (plating) over the pewter. Other base-metal items marked "antiqued pewter" or "antiqued brass" may be brass or zinc with an antiqued pewter or antiqued brass plating. In nearly all cases, these zinc or brass alloys meet lead-free criteria.
"White metal" and "pot metal" are terms for tin-based alloys used in low temperature casting of costume jewelry components. White metal castings are usually three-dimensional rather than flat and are often plated. The exact composition of white metal varies, because each casting foundry and shop uses its own proprietary formula. Stamped findings are typically made from brass or copper clad steel sheet. Stamped findings may be plated and are usually one sided, often flat or slightly domed. See platings for more about the color of white metal.
Nickel silver is silver in color, but does not contain any sterling silver. The relatively inexpensive cost of nickel silver compared with sterling makes it an attractive option for jewelry components. Just be aware that some people are allergic to nickel.
Surgical steel findings are slightly more gray than white findings, but the difference is barely noticeable, especially on finished jewelry. Surgical steel does not match sterling or silver plate well. See platings for more information on the colors of base-metal components.
What are Precious Metals?
The term precious metals usually means platinum, gold or silver. Some years, market "spot" prices of precious metals like gold and silver fluctuate greatly. An immediate effect will be noticed in sterling, gold filled and 14kt gold wire, sheet, beads and findings. If prices remain particularly high (or low), there will be a similar (but smaller) effect in the prices of silver-plated and gold-plated (base metal) items. More info on metal markets and our prices.
Precious metals
Sterling silver, sometimes stamped .925, is an alloy of at least 92.5% silver, and (usually) copper. It is a soft, easy to work with metal, which can be antiqued to a dark black or polished to a bright shine.
Fine silver, sometimes stamped .999, is at least 99.9% pure silver, which means it is softer and more malleable than sterling. It also tends to take longer to tarnish. Our Karen Hill Tribe fine silver is handcrafted in remote villages using traditional silver-smithing techniques. Fine silver is compatible with Art Clay™ silver metal clay.
Karat (kt) gold: Pure gold is 24kt, meaning 24 out of 24 parts are gold. 24kt is too soft to be functional, so it is alloyed with other metals for durability, cost and color. 14kt is 14 parts gold out of 24, and the remaining 10 parts are other metals. Depending on the color of gold (which can be yellow, rose, green or white), the other parts may be copper, silver, nickel, zinc, tin, palladium and/or manganese. People with nickel allergies should be aware that white gold contains nickel. All of the karat gold we carry is yellow gold.
Gold fill (also called gold overlay) is made by using heat and pressure to apply a layer of karat gold to a base of less costly metal. This produces a surface with karat gold. The minimum layer of karat gold must equal at least 1/20 of the total weight of the item.
Gold-filled tubing and wire are usually seamless, so only gold touches the body. Gold-filled sheets of base metal, used to make other findings, can be either single clad (gold on visible side only) or double clad (gold on both sides and sometimes the edge). Seamless and double clad gold-filled items are less likely to discolor, since the base metal is sealed inside the gold. However, the layer of gold on a single clad 1/20 gold-filled item is as thick (and the same total weight) as the two layers of gold on a double clad 1/20 gold-filled item. Use care when buffing gold-filled items, to avoid removing the gold layer.
The surface layer of karat gold on gold-filled items is usually 10kt, 12kt or 14kt. To know the thickness of the layer, look for a fraction, such as 1/10 or 1/20. It will be 1/20 unless otherwise stamped. Examples:
1/10 10kt GF: 1/10 of the total weight must be 10kt gold.
1/20 12kt GF: 1/20 of the total weight must be 12kt gold.
Vermeil, pronounced "vehr-MAY," is a plating of karat gold over sterling silver.
What are Platings?
A plating is a thin deposit of metal that is electrochemically or otherwise appplied to the surface of a different metal base. "White," "yellow," "silver plate" and "gold plate" are somewhat ambiguous terms when you're trying to determine whether or not the clasp in your hand will match the clasp listed in a catalog. Here are our definitions, which are fairly standard throughout the jewelry industry:
White is the silver color that you most often see on costume jewelry and base-metal findings. White-plated components are generally a bit grayer, but also more durable, than silver-plated components. White TierraCast® items are plated with rhodium, which is brighter and more silvery than other white-plated items.
Yellow is a gold-colored plating that is slightly brassier, but longer lasting, than gold plate. Yellow finishes go best with raw brass.
Silver plate is a thin surface layer of silver color or actual silver. It nicely matches the color of sterling silver; it doesn't quite match our white findings. Like sterling silver, silver plate will tarnish. For this reason, it's frequently lacquered to prevent tarnish (until the lacquer wears off).
Gold plate is a very thin deposit of gold color, or actual gold (about 1/1,000 - 1/1,000,000 of an inch). The color matches 14kt gold. Heavy gold electroplate might be 2 or 3/1000s of an inch thick (this can also be written as 2 or 3 mils).
Copper plate is a bright, shiny copper plating. Because the metal underneath the plating is usually a harder metal than copper, copper-plated components tend to be more durable than solid copper parts.
Antiqued pewter (AP) is a pewter-colored plating that has been darkened to provide a "distressed" (oxidized) appearance. Some AP items are matte, while others are shiny.
Antiqued silver (AS) is a silver or silver-colored plating that has been darkened to provide a "distressed" (oxidized) appearance.
Antiqued gold (AG) is a gold or gold-colored plating that has been darkened to provide a "distressed" (oxidized) appearance.
Antiqued brass (AB) components typically have a brass or zinc base with a brass plating. The crevices of antiqued brass beads, charms and findings are darkened to give them a "distressed" (oxidized) appearance.
Antiqued copper (AC) is a copper plating that has been darkened to provide a "distressed" (oxidized) appearance.
Gunmetal is black nickel plating, which often looks antiqued.
Gilt is a very thin finish of gold color (not actual gold).
Vermeil, pronounced "vehr-MAY," is a plating of karat gold over sterling silver.
What's the Difference between Gold Plate and Gold Fill?
Gold fill is 50 to 100,000 times thicker than regular gold plating, and about 17 to 25,000 times thicker than heavy gold electroplate.
(Information courtesy of Rings & Things)