The solid bangle
25th February 2020
Ruby set 9ct yellow gold bangle of 15.9 grams.
I have been making bangles like the above one for many years now as part of a family tradition. As the young ladies reach a certain age their Grandmother has me make a bangle with their birth stone hammer set into it.
This one was for the last granddaughter and the bangles are always made from “solid” gold in all the meanings of the word as used in the jewellery industry.
The word “solid” in the jewellery industry.
Meaning 1:
The word solid in the jewellery industry can refer to the fact that the piece is not just plated or laminated precious metal over the top of a non precious metal.
Meaning 2:
The word solid can also mean that the piece has no cavities in it, it is solid all the way through.
Hollow on the left and solid on the right. The solid piece uses more than double the metal of the hollow.
A hollow piece of jewellery, made entirely of a precious metal such as gold or silver (of whatever purity), you may still find referred to as “solid gold/silver” especially when the person selling the jewellery did not make it and simply does not know.
The upside of hollow jewellery
The upside of hollow jewellery is that the reduction in the amount of precious metal used makes them more affordable for the consumer and can also allow the seller to increase their price per gram.
Most hollow jewellery is machine made and purchased and sold in the wholesale market by the gram as most chain is.
Article: How to buy chain the smart way
The downside of hollow jewellery
This type of jewellery is more prone to breaking than solid pieces. In most cases once you break a hollow piece of jewellery it is not repairable. Sorry.
Hollow jewellery is sometimes filled with materials like jewellery setting wax (photo 2 above) to make it feel more substantial and to also add some strength. The presence of that material inside often makes it nearly impossible to repair the piece if it breaks or to determine it’s true value in precious metal by weight.
By the way, I reused that old bangle to create this new family heirloom. The initials of the original owner of the bangle that it was created from are engraved on the front. N E W.
Back to some new jewellery
In the case of both the 9ct white gold bangle and the 14ct gold wedding ring above, both customers understood my attitude towards thin and hollow pieces. Both pieces have no cavities and are made from solid precious metal.
The 14ct yellow gold wedding ring was created to a thickness of 2mm when most rings today are made closer to a thickness of 1mm.
With the bangle being solid we were able to very boldly engrave it with a message from the giver to the recipient. If either of these pieces ever bend out of shape or are scratched heavily, unlike a hollow piece, I will be able to repair them.
It is almost impossible to burnish hollow jewellery due to the force required. If you do not know what burnishing is then you should if you want your jewellery to last the longest it can and look the best.