Precious Jewellery Materials and Metals

The materials used in each item are clearly listed in the product description. For care of your jewellery please see our jewellery care guide.

Silver: Our designers use sterling silver which contains 92.5% silver, the remainder being copper or another metal. Silver is often stamped with 925.

Yellow Gold: Pure gold is a soft metal so it is usually alloyed with base metals for use in jewellery. The gold/metal ratio is measured in 24 parts called karats. A higher karat such as 22k contains a higher percentage of gold. Kabiri designers who work in gold use a range of gold karat, from 9k to 24k.

Rose, Pink, Red and Green Gold: Different alloys are mixed with the pure gold to create the desired coloured hue. Copper is the common alloy in rose gold, and silver for green gold.

White Gold: Very pale yellow colour alloys are used for white gold, normally containing zinc, nickel and copper. This alloy is normally plated with rhodium to make it whiter and brighter. White gold with Palladium alloys are more expensive than other white gold alloys and does not require a rhodium plate because it is a lot whiter than other white gold. This higher quality white gold with palladium is the gold that Conroy and Wilcox use in their jewellery designs.

Gold Plating: Some designers use either a base metal (such as brass) or silver for their jewellery designs, then gold plate the piece to produce a gold finish. Gold plating is achieved by fusing gold to the surface of the metal. This process is susceptible to wear but if looked after correctly can last many years.

Vermeil: Vermeil (pronounced vehr-MAY), is gold plated silver. For an item to be considered as vermeil, the gold plating must be at least 10-karat and at least 1.5 micrometers thick.

Rhodium Plating: Some of our designers rhodium plate their designs to give a whiter or a black finish. Like gold plating, it is a process that is susceptible to wear but looked after correctly can last many years.

Oxidised Silver: A chemical process that blackens silver. This is a surface finish that can be susceptible to wear. If looked after correctly the oxidisation will last many years.

Lucite: A very strong acrylic material, it has a beautiful luminosity to it and very popular in jewellery design. Alexis Bittar has been highly acclaimed for his use of Lucite.