Vintage Sterling & Watermelon Tourmaline Pendant. Stamped 925 on back.

Are these stones real or fake?

Aside from diamonds, we do not know if any gemstones are natural or synthetic. We will state on certain gemstones, that we know 100%, if they are created or fake due to their lack of inclusions. For this reason, we do not sell any diamonds without inclusions, and the larger diamonds (half ct+) are soft graded.
In recent years, synthetic gemstones are being created to pass the hardness tests, which is why we state clear rubies and emeralds to be created.
In regards to Star Sapphires, typically, a genuine Star Sapphire’s star will follow a light source that is shining on it, while created ones stay stationary. In recent years synthetic ones can now also follow the light source.
The only true way to know if the stone is created or natural is to take the stone out and be graded by the GIA. Otherwise it’s anyone’s word against another’s.

Is our gold solid gold?

We get asked this question quite often. To respond to this question, we have to look at gold jewelry karats. Solid gold is 24k 100% pure. The odds of seeing jewelry made of this purity are pretty slim. You might see some Indian gold at the 24k mark but most of their jewelry is in the 21-22k (.875-.917% pure) range. In stating this the common gold karats we see today in America are 10k (.417% pure), 14k (.583% pure) and 18k (.750%) pure. However, with European jewelry and other jewelry made around the world, you will see 8k (.333% pure), 9k (.375% pure) and more. These karats of gold I have dealt with thus far. Now any jewelry predating 1906 is not guaranteed to be the full karat that it is marked. Like a ring could be marked 10k (.417% pure) but in reality it's 9.6k (.400% pure). In 1906 the National Gold and Silver act was formed so that any gold that was stamped the karat marked will be the karat that you get. Now in stating this if you see a ring marked 14KP it's not a 14k plate but 14k plum meaning pure 14k. Now again the only pure gold is 24k. In stating this if you are allergic to zinc, nickel or copper I would recommend buying 14k or a higher grade of gold. The reason why is you may get an allergic reaction to the ring because of its other contents (58.3%).

Does gold tarnish?

The answer to this question is "Solid" 24k gold does not tarnish and is too soft to be used in jewelry by itself. So gold is usually alloyed with other base metals (zinc, copper and nickel for example) altering its properties. It is these other base metals alloyed with gold that actually react with oxygen, sulfur and moisture and eventually tarnish your gold jewelry. The higher the karat the jewelry is, the less likely that it will tarnish. If you need the websites to provide this available info, I can give them to you. I test all questionable gold or silver items that come inside my store. I will even get a 2nd opinion on the items if my acid tests are not reading it correctly. I take pride in selling jewelry at discounted prices compared to jewelry stores, that saves you the most compared to buying new. Should you have any questions before purchasing an item please ask. Thank you, and I hope this helps you to better understand gold jewelry.

Please stop in often as we will be adding additional vintage fine jewelry beauties.
Note that the letter/number combo in the title is for our purposes only.