Jewelry Tips: Stainless steel has a light gray tone, close to silver or white gold. With the introduction of pricey industrial metals to the jewelry industry, stainless steel as a low-cost alternative was probably inevitable. It will not bend or break under normal usage; it doesn’t tarnish and is hypoallergenic.

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Jewelry Tips: Steel, an iron-carbon alloy, has been known and used for millennia, but it has always had one major drawback–rust. During the 19th Century, several alloys were developed that resisted corrosion, until the near perfect mix (10-percent chromium and 0.15-percent carbon added to approximately 89.85-percent iron) was found. (The approximate iron content is because other elements can be added to increase flexibility, hardness or other characteristics.) Stainless steel does actually rust, but the rust (or oxide) is a thin layer that actually protects the metal from reacting with air or water.

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Jewelry Tips: The jewelry industry is carefully regulated to prevent misrepresentation or fraud. By law, all objects containing precious metals must be clearly and obviously described as to metal type, purity and manufacture, following regulations set down by the US Federal Trade Commission. All jewelry sold at Overstock.com conforms to these regulations.

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Jewelry Tips: The KPCS has been criticized for being too lax, and often, jewelers don’t have certificates of origin on hand. If that’s the case, ask your jeweler which company supplies the store’s gold and diamonds, and research that particular supplier’s standards and policies before purchasing.

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Jewelry Tips: The most plentiful of precious metals, silver, is also the most widely used. It was the money standard until the 19th Century in most countries, and almost every 21st Century home has some silver jewelry, silver-plated candlesticks, photographic film, silver coins, etc. Silver must be alloyed for hardness; the best-known alloy is sterling silver, that’s any alloy 925 fine or 92.5 percent silver (plus 7.5 percent base metal). Though used most in money or castings, sterling silver jewelry is a growing fashion trend. Jewelry marked “Alpaca Mexico” is generally less pure than sterling–most often around 900 fine. “Jewelry silver” is a specific alloy, 80 percent silver 20 percent copper.

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