Changes in silver jewellery fashion
Silver seems to be in with a capital I. More and more
people are turning away from the expensive spectrum of jewellery
like gold & platinum set with diamonds or other precious stones
in favour of rhodium plated silver set with cubic zirconia's or
other semi precious stones. The process of rhodium plating has
given silver a whole new look, but most people do not even know
what rhodium is. Rhodium is from the platinum family of precious
metals and is one of the rarest elements on earth! Rhodium is
bright white in colour and extremely hard making it ideal for
jewellery plating as its very scratch resistant. Rhodium has
been used for the last few years to plate silver jewellery as it
is very resistant to corrosion, so will protect your silver from
tarnishing. The rhodium gives silver a shine that looks like
white gold or platinum and with it still being a precious metal
it means that you are not compromising with quality, just saving
money. Rhodium plating or "platinum enhanced sterling silver" as
it's sometimes known, means that your silver will not go dull
and grey like silver items from previous generations, but
instead will sparkle brightly like platinum.
Major fashion houses like Tiffany are producing some stunning
lines in rhodium plated silver, along with other major designers
like Gucci and Christian Dior. When rhodium plated jewellery is
combined with semi precious stones, you get a very desirable
look at a very affordable price. This allows people to change
their jewellery much more frequently than before due to the
affordability and wear it without the great fear of loss that we
all have when wearing an expensive piece of jewellery. This also
makes great common sense as more and more of the countries
police authorities advise against the wearing of any expensive
jewellery when out in a busy place at night like London etc.
The semi precious stones for next season have to be peridot and
bright cubic zirconia, there is still a strong influence of men
and women wearing cubic zirconia instead of diamonds. The
quality of cubic zirconia are so good now it is very difficult
to tell the difference between a CZ and a good quality diamond.
For a fashion item why spend hundreds on a diamond when a CZ
will cost a fraction of the price, look very much the same and
do the same job?
The future of jewellery and in particular silver is rosy. Women
will always want jewellery, and no woman will ever have enough
earrings or rings in her jewellery box. Silver is becoming a
more precious and scarce material. With modern manufacturing and
high standards of machine jewellery rather than hand made items
the versatility is not only promising but also a method to be
watched intently.