/education-metals
Skip to main contentSkip to navigationSkip to footer
Your Widget Header Text Goes Here This banner image is 1600 x 600 pixels on desktop Peter & Co. Jewelers Avon Lake, OH Your Widget Header Text Goes Here This banner image is 1600 x 600 pixels on desktop Peter & Co. Jewelers Avon Lake, OH

Characteristics of Our
Precious Metal Selection

precious and alternative metals available

At Peter & Co. Jewelers, we proudly serve Avon Lake, OH, and the surrounding areas, providing a wide range of precious metals for all of the high-quality pieces in our inventory. From the allure of platinum to a range of options with classic gold, our selection contains jewelry designs for every occasion, including earrings, rings, necklaces, bracelets, and more. Learn more about the qualities of the precious metals offered by Peter & Co. Jewelers.

Shop All JewelryShop by Category

GOLD

Gold is mixed with alloys like copper, silver, nickel, and zinc to give different colors, strengths, and durability. Gold's purity is measured in karats, indicating how many of the metal’s 24 parts are gold. Our selection includes the following types of gold:

Yellow Gold: Yellow gold is available in different tones, and the exact yellow hue depends on the type of metal alloy used and the percentage of each of them. Pure gold is a rich, shining yellow, full of luster.

White Gold: White gold was originally developed to imitate platinum (a naturally white metal). 18karat White gold is usually an alloy containing about 75% gold and about 25% nickel and zinc.

Rose Gold: Rose gold is a mixture of yellow gold, copper, and silver. The copper gives it a redder color than yellow gold naturally has. The silver helps to tone down the redness of the copper, achieving a subtle pink shade.

Platinum and Palladium

Platinum is generally 95% pure and does not tarnish or lose its rich white luster. Platinum is the heaviest of all the precious metals, weighing approximately twice as much as karat gold. Its purity makes it hypoallergenic, perfect for people who are sensitive to the alloys used in gold. Platinum is also known for its strength and pliability – just one gram of platinum can be drawn into a fine wire over one mile long.

Palladium is a member of the platinum metal group and has a soft, silvery-white color with slightly grey undertones. It is also used in an almost pure form in 95% of jewelry made in palladium. It is more difficult to work with than platinum or gold and weighs much less.

Silver

Silver is a soft, lustrous metal that is very malleable and is silvery-white in color. Sterling silver is a common alloy comprised of 92.5% silver and 7.5% copper. Silver is more plentiful than platinum or gold and is thereby much less expensive. It takes on a higher polish than any other metal, but it does tarnish. The tarnish can be removed, but silver requires much more care than other metals.

Shop Silver Jewelry

Alternative metals

Cobalt has a similar look to platinum, with great strength, and is lightweight. Because of its temperature stability, cobalt alloys are often used in engine turbines and surgical implants. They are commonly used as a less expensive alternative to white gold.

Titanium is a light, strong, and corrosion-resistant metal. Titanium offers you seven times the strength of platinum at about 1/3 of the weight. It is the hardest natural metal on earth and therefore offers more scratch resistance than gold or silver. In addition, titanium is also hypoallergenic.

Zirconium rings are hypoallergenic, lightweight, and comfortable. It earns its stark black appearance through our proprietary heating process, in which a layer of hard black oxide grows on the metal. This black layer is much harder than raw zirconium, but it is very thin. Unlike oxidized silver and black rhodium, this layer does not rub off over time. It is also more durable than black-coated rings, such as black titanium and black tungsten.Zirconium rings should be treated as fine jewelry, and should be removed during harsh activities to avoid scratching.

Damascus Steel rings are made by hand, mimicking ancient metalsmithing techniques originally used to make samurai swords. Using two alternating types of stainless steel, master craftsman heat, bond, twist and fold the metal layers together to produce vivid patterns.

After patterning the metal, there can be up to 100 layers in each piece of finished Damascus. Each Damascus steel ring is unique – no two designs will look exactly alike.

Tantulum is a beautiful gray color with a hint of blue.  It’s that great gun-metal tone that’s darker than titanium but not black like zirconium.  It is quite dense, with a weight similar to platinum.  While many alternative metals create difficulties with resizing, tantalum is quite malleable and easily resized up to one size depending on customization.  Tantalum is hypoallergenic, and will not corrode or react with exposure to everyday use or chemicals.

View Our Alternative Metal Bands

Learn More About our Precious Metals Selection

Since 1987, Peter & Co. Jewelers has provided customers in Avon Lake, OH, and the surrounding areas with a wide variety of precious metals for fine jewelry design. To learn more about our precious metals selection, please contact us today.

Contact UsMake An Appointment