14kt Gold Filled Wire
14kt Rolled Gold Wire:
This is one of the primary materials we use since it has the beautiful gold luster of pure gold wire, at a fraction of the cost. Not to be confused with Gold Plated wire which has only a very small electroplated amount of gold covering, rolled gold wire will contain about 100 times the gold amount of plated wire. It is also known as Gold Filled, a name given by the process of creating tubes of gold which are then filled with less precious metals like brass. We use 14kt/20 rolled gold wire which means that 20% of the wire, it's outer layer, is made of 14kt gold. Modern processes actually roll jeweler's brass wire to bond it with it's sizable coating of 14kt gold for maximum durability. The process of creating rolled gold (aka Gold Filled) metal has been around for some time, and that's evidenced by the selections of jewelry made of it that date back to the Victorian era which still shine today. Since the thick outer layer is made of gold, it will shine for years to come and be virtually indistinguishable from pure 14kt gold wire.
Sterling Silver Wire
Sterling Silver Wire:
We use only Sterling Silver grade wire for sculpting. It has a purity level of 92.5% silver. This shiny metal makes wonderful jewelry and will last for years to come. It particularly compliments darker gemstones and related materials as it makes for a wonderful contrast. Sterling Silver wire lends itself beautifully to being sculpted as you will see if you check out our catalog of items.
Argentium [TM] Sterling Silver:
This Sterling Silver utilizes a patented alloy to make up the impure content of the Silver (part of the 7.5% that isn't pure silver) in order to make it far more resistant to tarnishing. Pure silver oxidizes in a way that we know commonly as tarnish, a darkening of the bright luster we know as silver. While it doesn't eliminate the possibility of tarnishing, our own tests show that it has a remarkable resistance to this natural phenomenon, thus allowing jewelry owners the ability to avoid cleaning for a much longer time frame.
Sterling and 14kt Gold Filled Wire with Our Tools
CRAFT WIRE: Craft wire has become a popular wire type for making jewelry as it reduces the cost of construction, and thus the cost of purchasing such jewelry made with it, while not sacrificing the beauty of the piece. These can be made out of special metal alloys and sometimes are plated with tarnish resistant silver.
COPPER WIRE: Copper wire is another great material often used in wire wrapped/sculpted jewelry these days. They can have coatings that diminish tarnishing, or sometimes even treated to bring out a patina that can be polished off certain surfaces to give the item a unique antiqued look that many love.
JEWELER'S BRASS WIRE: Brass is a very versatile metal that is actually a combination of copper and zinc which has a golden-like appearance and is durable, malleable and corrosion resistant. It can be crafted into some spectacular pieces.