Recycled Metals In Jewelry
Reduce. Reuse. Recycle. We’ve all heard that a million terms and we always think, yes I know we’re supposed to recycle the cardboard and paper we throw away. But we probably don’t think of our jewelry when that comes up. I know I certainly don’t and I write a blog for a jewelry company. However, knowing how jewelry can be recycled and why you should look for recycled jewelry is very important. The fashion and jewelry supply chains are some of the biggest polluters on Earth and some of the most exploitative industries towards the folks who work at the very bottom. Therefore, buying recycled jewelry is fantastic because it can mitigate that exploitation of people and resources.
There are three metals that are the most commonly used in making recycled jewelry. Can you guess? Hint: they’re all precious metals! Do you remember them? Okay I’ll stop confusing you. They are gold, platinum, and palladium.
Gold can be melted down and turned into the three different kinds of gold, mixed into other metals. They are white gold (fine gold, nickel, zinc, copper, and silver), rose gold (gold and a copper silver alloy), and yellow gold (fine gold, copper, and fine silver). Since gold does not deteriorate, jewelers can take an older gold piece, melt it down, extract the gold, and fashion it into another piece. This makes it easy to recycle and easy to find on the recycled jewelry market.
Platinum can also be recycled. Platinum jewelry is made up of platinum and iridium. It is one of the most durable metals out there and it is so durable, that it will retain its metal when damaged and develop a shine called a “patina” which makes it look even better. It is used in jewelry made of gold, silver, and other precious metals to strengthen the piece. Because of this, it is very expensive but it is definitely worth it if you have the means.
Palladium is the third most commonly recycled metal. In palladium jewelry, the pieces will contain palladium and an alloy (usually gold, silver, or copper). The metal itself is lighter, cheaper, and more durable than platinum. This means it is very widely used and any jewelry worth its money (especially recycled jewelry), probably has palladium in it even if the product description doesn’t say so.
These three metals all make up some very fine, beautiful, durable jewelry that is out there waiting for you to buy it. So keep this in mind when looking to buy jewelry made of precious metals. Don’t where to find it? Check out Milk and Rose’s gold and silver to get started. You can feel beautiful and you can feel good about saving the Earth!