If a costume jewelry is meticulously crafted, it will be difficult for you to identify its difference from a fine jewelry. When you look at a costume jewelry, you’ll be able to see the valuable metal on the surface, formed into a plating, dipping, filling or rolling. But, when you look more closely, you’ll notice that the coatings of metals aren’t actually difficult to scratch with a sharp object. The scratched part will divulge other metals which don’t belong to the group of precious metals (gold, silver, and platinum). Added to that, there are costume items considered to be gold/silver tone. This means that their coating are impartial to a paint of gold or silver.
How Do I Identify A Costume Jewelry from A Fine Jewelry?
The main difference between a costume jewelry and a fine jewelry is the kind of metal integrated into the piece, and the genuineness of the stones used to decorate the jewelry. Added to that, fine jewelry can last for decades, and are commonly used for investing, collection and passing down to the members of the family.
There are many ways for individuals to identify the difference between a costume jewelry and a fine jewelry. For an item to be considered a fine jewelry, they should be made either of gold, sterling silver, or platinum. For a gold jewelry to be identified as a fine jewelry, it shouldn’t be less than 10 karats. For yellow and white gold jewelries, they are mostly offered in karats of 10, 14 and 24. However, fine jewelries made out of high karat gold have a tendency of being softer and being scratched easily.
How about the Stones, Pearls and Diamonds?
A jewelry is considered to be a jewelry if the stones used are natural gemstones. Natural gemstones have every visual, chemical, and physical aspect of mined gemstones.
Pearls
For pearls to be categorized as fine jewelry, they have to be naturally formed. A lot of individuals get confused whether the pearls are cultured or genuine. Cultured pearls are considered as natural pears, which are grown in oysters particularly taken care of following the schedule of the pearl production.
Diamonds
Every natural diamond is a fine jewelry. Some of the most common manufactured stones that are not real diamonds include briolite, Diamonique, glass, rhinestone, and quartz. Real diamonds are made out of pure carbon. On the other hand, diamonds crafted in a laboratory may have the same chemical properties s diamonds, but they still need to be labeled as lab-created. Obviously, they’re cheaper compared to natural diamonds. A lot of customers preferred lab-created diamonds because of the lower price. However, the value will be smaller if you try to sell it off.
What are some of the Disadvantages of Buying Costume Jewelry?
There are many reasons why people buy costume jewelry, one of which is being fashionable without being expensive. However, there are some disadvantages of picking costume jewelries over fine pieces.
- There are times where they look visibly cheap.
- They can turn your skin to green.
- They can break easily.
- They fade quickly compared to fine jewelry.
