Sterling Silver is a mix of pure silver and copper and (or) other similar metals to create Sterling Silver. This process is done mainly because pure silver is a very soft metal, and it wouldn’t resist in time on its own. The Sterling Silver mix makes the silver stronger and more durable. It contains 92.5% of Pure Silver. Copper being a very strong metal, not much is needed to make a difference in strength. While Sterling Silver is stronger than pure silver, it does unfortunately scratch and tarnish.

We suggest keeping your sterling silver jewelry in a cool and dry place. Humid environments (or near plants) can speed tarnishing process.


What is the difference between Sterling Silver and Silver Plated Jewelry?
Inchoo Bijoux strictly works with Sterling Silver. We do not do any platings, and our alloys are made in house, to ensure their purity and
quality.


Solid Sterling Silver
No plating, the whole piece is in Sterling Silver. Maintains it's durability and quality over time. Needs a bit of maintenance to stay very brilliant, but it's very little.

Silver Plated
Silver Platings are very thin layers of silver that are electroplated onto any metal base. The base metals can be Copper, Brass, Nickel, Pewter, etc. Silver platings don't last in time and will often need to be replated. When the plating wears off, the base metal can cause severe skin irritation. Silver plated jewelry has been invented by fast fashion markets, they aren't made to last in time.

Gold in the Jewelry World is made of an alloy of Gold and Silver (and other metals like Copper, Nickel and Zinc). The actual gold content of metal is measured in Karats, which describes the proportion of pure old to the other metals in the alloy. The higher the portion of gold in the final metal, the pricier it gets. The maximum gold content is said 24K, which can also be translated to 1000g/1000g. 24k Gold is unfortunately too soft and malleable, it cannot be used in jewelry. By comparison, 14K gold is 585g/1000g, which means in a mix of 1000g, 585g will be pure gold and the balance will be a mix of silver, copper or zinc(depending
on the chosen colour of gold). These alloys makes the gold stronger and easier to work with. Pure Gold is a vibrant yellow colour. The non-gold metals added to the alloy determine the final gold colour result. It is possible to play with a few hues to get different subtle tints. Gold is always a beautiful choice for wedding bands, rings, earrings and necklaces. We recommend that you bring your rings and other frequently worn jewels for checkups and cleaning every couple years. We will make them all shiny and polished. This also helps prevent and detect any loose stones.

10K Gold: 417g/1000g
14K Gold: 585g/1000g
18K Gold: 750g/1000g

Yellow Gold is
an alloy of pure gold, silver and a bit of copper. These 2 are added together to the gold to bring out the metals natural warmth while strengthening it. Yellow Gold doesn’t require any protective plating, the colour is already bright and resistant.

Rose Gold is
our favourite! This alloy is made by combining pure gold, with a bit of silver and a bigger part of copper. The reddish colour comes from the coppers bigger presence. Rose Gold jewels do not require any protective plating.

White Gold is an alloy of gold with
white metals such as silver and zinc. Some jewelers also add palladium. The mix comes out as a yellowish - grayish tint and is often plated with a rhodium to give it a whiter look. Like any plating, it has to be redone every now and then to keep that shiny look. Rhodium plating also adds a bit to the durability. We cannot use rhodium platings for septums, unfortunatly.
 
Platinum is a rarer and pricier option in metals. It is also a very strong metal, alloyed with copper and cobalt and other platinum group metals like palladium. This metal hypo allergenic, is amazingly durable, and doesn’t tarnish. For a Platinum jewel to be labelled as platinum, it must have a minimum
level of purity of 90%. Platinum rings are great to engrave as well, as the lettering comes out sharper and more precise. We offer custom orders in Platinum, but we don’t keep pieces in our shop or collections.

What is the difference between Solid Gold and Gold Plated Jewelry?

As jewelers that create pieces from scratch, we value the longevity and the durability of the pieces we create. We choose to work striclty with precious metals, Sterling Silver and Solid Gold.

Here are the Pros and Cons of Solid Gold VS Platings/Gold Filled

Solid Gold:
is more expensive but will last forever. There are no layers, it's a
pure alloy that is composed in every single aspect of it. Real gold jewelry
is an investment, but they will not lose their value. We can make all
our designs in solid gold of any Karat. Solid Gold is easy to repair,
easy to maintain and is made for everyday wear.

Gold Plating + Vermeil
To gold plate something, it is dipped in a solution that contains particles of gold diluted and it is zapped to a Metal, Silver using electric current. The metal can be any type, like copper, nickel, brass and even sterling silver. The electro chemical reaction makes a deposit of a thin layer of gold on the metal. Not as thick as gold filled, but much less expensive. Platings don't last in time and are very sensitive to friction, jewelry like rings, won't even last a week.

Gold-filled:
this process has more gold than a plating. The outer layer of gold filled
jewelry is much thicker than on gold plated pieces. The process involves
a mechanical bonding of the gold through extreme pressure and heat to another metal (Sterling Silver or Brass). The Gold Filled process isn't something that can be artisanally done, that is why it's mostly available only as wires, sheets or mechanically made pieces. Gold Filled jewelry have terrible looking soldering joints, they are usually re-plated over. We do not work with Gold Filled Materials.

Are your Gemstones real? Why aren’t they all the same colour as in the malls?
All the gems we use are real. Big Jewelry stores have to be consistent in what they sell, so they buy gems that are exactly alike. In some cases, the stones are heat treated to alter their colour and achieve this consistency. We buy our stones according to what strikes our creative eyes and imagination. This does mean that they may vary from each other. They will certainly be real.

Please note that some gems will be
different from the pictures, like Herkimer Diamonds/Quartz, Moonstones, Opals and Labradorite as they are all different by nature. Pearls might have a small colour difference, Opals, Moonstones and Labradorites have completely different light reflections in each gem.

We do used Cubic Zirconia too. It will always be identified. We use the best quality on the market, either Swiss or German made. Our Coffin Crystals are Cz, it is the only way for us to be able to afford and sell
affordable coffin gemstone rings. They are all handcut, and we work very hard to have them all be the same.We have a few Coffins that are available in Semi-Precious Options (8x13) : Onyx, Garnet, Rose Quartz, Labradorite and more.

What is the difference between precious and semi-precious gemstones?
The term semi-precious is somewhat misleading. It suggests that some gemstones have inferior value, which is not the case. Years ago, gemologists decided that 4 gemstones would be considered precious, and all other would be considered semi-precious. These gemstones are: Ruby, Emerald, Sapphire and Diamonds. The truth is, all natural coloured gemstones are rare and precious. Their prices are determined by availability, quality and pureness of the colour of the gemstone.

What are these : Pear, Marquise or Baguette names we see?
These names refer to the Gemologists Gemstone Cuts Chart. We put a chart here to help detail what each shape looks like. There are more types of cuts available on the market and it's always possible to ask us for a custom cut gemstone.

Diamond Shopping and Knowledge stars with the 4 C's :
Clarity, Colour, Cut and Carat. These 4 factors are what determine the quality and price of a natural diamond.

Clarity:
Diamonds have internal features, called inclusions and irregularities. Clarity grades the absence of these. Blemishes are imperfections that are found on the surface of the diamond, inclusions are said of those inside. Inclusions are mineral crystals that are trapped in the diamond when it formed under pressure. Clarity characteristics affects diamonds and have a negative impact.  The positioning of the inclusions have a great factor: inclusions on the side of the diamond will have less negative
impact than inclusions that are in the middle of it. The most desirable
diamonds are the ones said to be Flawless. Flawless diamonds are
extremely rare and can go for top prices. Diamonds on the Vs and VVS side of the chart typically have inclusions that can't be seen with an unaided eye.

Carat:
Carat is the measurement of how a diamond, or precious gemstone weighs. A metric Carat is defined as 200 milligrams. Each carat can be divided into 100 “points”. This allows for a very precise measurement, to the hundredth
decimal. One carat is shown as 0ct. Diamond and gemstone prices increase with weight because larger
diamonds and gems are more desirable. Large diamonds are considered more valuable because they are much less discovered in nature than smaller ones. That being said, 2 diamonds of the same weight can have different prices depending on the 4Cs of diamond rating: Cut, Clarity, Colour, Carat.

Colour:
Colourless diamonds are scarce, most diamonds have tints of yellow or brown in them, making the whiter
diamonds more valuable and expensive. Diamonds are scaled D-Z to determine the whiteness. At Inchoo, we have a great passion for black diamonds and salt and pepper ones! Let us show you their beauty!

Cut:
Diamonds are expected to give an incomparable beauty. A well-cut diamond plays an immense factor on setting it’s value. When diamonds interact with light, every angle in the gem should affect the amount of light that is returned to the eye. Diamonds proportions determine how light performs when it enters the diamond. A diamonds beauty depends on 3 optical effects. White light reflections (brightness). Flashes of colour(fire) and the areas of light and dark (scintillation). There must be enough contrast between light and dark areas to give the pattern of the diamond crisp and shark look. The term cut is also used to describe the diamonds fashioned shape. The most common one is calls Round Brilliant. The other shapes are referred to as fancy cuts. Fancy cuts have different names, base of their shape. The most popular ones are: princess, pear, oval, emerald, marquise and heart. It is said that the cut of a diamond can determine up to 50% of its value. A high quality cut diamond makes colour and clarity less of a determining factor.

Possible Skin Reactions and How to fix them

We use the highest quality of Sterling Silver and Solid Gold in our jewelry (scroll back up for more details). The most common allergies with jewelry are related to Nickel or Copper. Our Sterling Silver is 100% Nickel Free, and the percentage of copper in silver isn't high. Skin reactions are very uncommon with our jewelry. They do occur rarely (about 2% of the time) for a variety of reasons. Some skin reactions happen because we wear our
jewelry too frequently without removing them and cleaning them. Chemicals, moisture and natural ingredients can get caught between the jewelry and the skin causing reactions. Generally, if a ring starts
giving you problems after weeks, months of wearing, it strongly points to an outside agent (cosmetics, lotions, soaps. Cleaning chemicals, etc.). Elements can get trapped under a ring and cause skin reactions.

Sometimes it can also be because the ring is too tight on your finger and not allowing oxygen to reach the skin. It's important to make sure you have an adequate sizing for your ring, that is neither too tight or too loose.

It is also known that some medications, that change the body’s chemical balance, can also cause a discomfort. Some peoples skins become very accidic with different medications, which causes a ph discomfort in contact with the small copper amount in the Sterling Silver.

If a new ring turns your finger green or black, we suggest removing the ring and cleaning it gently. Sometimes there might be a little polishing compound that stayed on the ring. That product does react a bit with skin. We wash our jewels thoroughly, but some can stay that missed our eye. If your ring turns your finger green after a good rince and wash, please contact us, it's very very uncommon.

Please feel comfortable to reach us for any issues. We take your comfort very seriously.