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The M Word

All About the Metals of Engagement Rings

When it is time to buy an engagement ring – you have a lot of factors to consider, you can read our step-by-step guide here. Selecting the right metal for an engagement ring is just as important as the diamond or gemstone it will hold. Your engagement ring is designed to be worn every day, for the rest of your life, you need a metal that will stand the test of time. Your metal choices are white gold, yellow gold, rose gold, and platinum. White, yellow, and rose gold are all available in 10k, 14k, 18k.

Deeper Dive into metals:

Gold is an extremely versatile metal and is the most common metal choice for jewelry. The standard measurement of gold is a karat (not to be confused by the carat of the 4cs), which is divided into 24 parts. Pure gold is 24 karats, meaning 24 out of 24 parts are gold.

gold bars
Silver Bars

The reason why jewelry is not found to be 24k is simply because it is too soft. 18k gold is 75% gold, 14k gold is 58% gold, and 10k is about 42% gold. What makes up the remaining percentage? Typically metals like silver, copper, nickel, and zinc are added to lend strength and durability. The noticeable difference between the karat of gold is the saturation of the color. 18k is going to depict a much richer tone than 10k.

Yellow Gold

The classic choice, yellow gold gets its color from warm patina from the red of copper and the green hue of silver. Yellow gold is the most common of the golds, partly because gold is yellow in its natural state.

The yellow gold used in engagement rings (and other fine jewelry) is typically alloyed with silver and copper; its color depends on the amount of pure gold in the alloy. The advantages of gold are that it is does not corrode, tarnish, or rust, so it can be counted on to provide lasting beauty.

White Gold

More contemporary than yellow gold, white gold gets its silvery white color from combining yellow gold with copper, zinc, nickel and sometimes palladium. It is plated with a hard element called rhodium that helps resists scratches, tarnishing and give the white gold a very bright and reflective appearance. White gold has a similar look to platinum but is noticeably less expensive.

White gold will start to turn to a light yellowish tone overtime but can be re-plated to be restored back to its original reflective silver tone. White gold is typically stronger than yellow gold because of the metals it is alloyed with.

Rose Gold

The newest trend is rose gold. Known for its warm, pink hue; rose gold is romantic and feminine. The pink hue is created with the combination of yellow gold with copper. The overall percentage of metal alloys are the same, but only includes copper which allows for that soft pink hue to take center stage.

Rose gold, though beautiful, is much softer than yellow or white gold because it is only alloyed with copper and yellow gold. We recommend using rose gold cautiously and to prepare for needing repair services more frequent when you choose a rose gold ring.

Platinum

Platinum is a naturally white metal with a cool luster that showcases the brilliance and sparkle of diamonds beautifully. It is a popular choice for an engagement ring and wedding bands. Platinum is five times as rare and pure when used in jewelry.

When looking at platinum for an engagement ring, it is more durable than any of the golds and is also naturally hypoallergenic.

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Each and every piece of McCoy’s hand crafted custom jewelry is backed by a Lifetime Warranty against defects in material or workmanship, at no additional charge, for as long as you own it.

Normal wear and tear happen, and you will need to maintain your piece over the years, including (eventually) re-tipping prongs and replacing worn metal. Just like a pair of tires on a car, metals wear down over time.

We don’t guarantee stones we didn’t set; in jewelry we didn’t make. This seems obvious, but for repairs & restorations, we can only guarantee the work we did. (So if we size a ring we will do our best to check the quality of the settings, but we don’t take liability for others work) We don’t pay for items to be shipped for inspections or work unless there is an original workmanship problem, however we promise to always make a good faith effort to fairly and honestly deal with all of our customers in every way. Our stone loss warranty can be an important part of your satisfaction and trust in our shop, so feel free to ask any questions about our policy.

McCoy Jewelers is proud to offer free lifetime diamond upgrade. Any loose diamond, mined or laboratory grown, purchased from McCoy Jewelers can be exchanged for credit equivalent to the price paid or current retail price, whichever is less, for a new diamond that is at least 50% greater value. Upgrade credit does not include tax paid on the original purchase. The diamond being upgraded must be accompanied with original documentation and must be in saleable condition. If the upgraded diamond cannot be set in your original engagement ring setting, you can exchange it for a precious metal credit as determined by McCoy Jewelers. See store for details, some exclusions may apply.

No Interest If Paid In Full within 12 months with Wells Fargo*

*Interest will be charged to your account from the purchase date if the purchase balance is not paid in full within the promotional period.

Features of the Wells Fargo Card:
• Low Minimum Monthly Payments
• Simple Credit Application Process
• Instant Credit Available*
• More purchasing power
• Dedicated credit lines, will not tie up your bankcard line
• Extended financing options not available with traditional credit cards*
• Special payment options available*
• 24 hour, self-service access to account information at www.wellsfargo.com and visit the digital marketing toolkit section
• Doesn’t Tie Up Other Credit Lines
• Receive your credit card in 7-10 days

*Subject to credit approval. Minimum monthly payment required. See store for details.
*The Wells Fargo credit card is issued by Wells Fargo Financial National Bank. Special terms apply to qualifying purchases charged with approved credit. Regular monthly payments are required during the promotional 6-month period. Interest will be charged to your account from the purchase date at the APR for Purchases if the purchase balance is not paid in full within the promotional period. For newly opened accounts, the APR for Purchases vary with the market based on the U.S. Prime Rate.

We love the earth we live in. So, we do our part to protect our environment. At McCoy Jewelers, we have created an earth-conscious environment through various avenues to help keep our air and earth clean.