Merkle Ringe und Schmuck Legierungen

Alloys

In addition to its shape, the color of a ring is the most important element of the piece of jewelry. Only the interplay of the shimmering sheen of our alloys and a precisely fitting profile gives each Merkle ring its uniqueness.

Noble metal

The color and quality of the precious metal are determined by the type of precious metal and the precious metal content. Pure gold is referred to as fine gold. In its pure form it is free of other metals such as silver and copper. Fine gold has a light yellow color, which does not change in the air, since fine gold does not combine with the oxygen in the air. These special properties classify gold as a precious metal.

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A shimmer for eternity

In its pure form, gold is the most ductile and softest metal. For this reason, it is mixed (alloyed) with other metals before processing. These alloys are of decisive advantage in jewelry and especially in wedding ring production, because they often have different, more durable physical properties than metals in their pure form. Wedding rings can often be made harder and more resistant, and each alloy gives the ring its unique shimmer of color. Adding silver or palladium makes the original shimmering yellow color of gold lighter, adding copper makes it darker or reddish.

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Degrees of purity

The degree of purity of gold can be expressed in different ways. A common measure in the 19th century was – and is partly to this day, especially in the United Kingdom and the USA – the “carat”.

The number of carats (kt) relates to how many parts of 24 total parts of an alloy are pure gold (e.g. 24kt gold means that 24 of 24 parts are gold, i.e. 24kt denotes 100% pure gold). The 8kt, 14kt, 18kt and 21kt containers we use contain 33.3% 58.5%, 75% or 90% gold, respectively. In Europe today, the indication that the proportion is based on 1000 parts by weight is more popular. This means that in alloy 585 a total of 585 out of 1000 parts by weight consist of fine gold.

With a hallmark (embossing) in each of our rings, we guarantee the actual fineness of each ring.

Yellow gold

Yellow gold is still the most popular jewelry alloy worldwide. The gold-yellow shimmer fascinated and fascinated people across all cultures and epochs. Yellow gold is a combination of fine gold, silver, zinc and copper. The color of the alloy depends on the gold content used. The higher the gold content, the more intense the shimmering yellow gold tone. Our range includes the following yellow gold alloys:

• 333 yellow gold (8 carats)
• 585 yellow gold (14 carat)
• 750 yellow gold (18 carat)
• 900 yellow gold (21.6 carats)

Red gold

Red gold impresses with its unusual copper color and is therefore very popular. Fine gold is mixed with silver and copper to make our rose gold. The following versions are in our range:

• 333 red gold (8 carats)
• 585 red gold (14 carat)
• 750 red gold (18 carat)

White gold

Our white gold alloys are characterized by a high proportion of palladium. Together with silver, the palladium removes the color from the fine gold. Depending on the proportion of “decolorizing” substances, the resulting alloy can have a silver (8 carat) to gray-white (18 carat) tone. Additionally coated with rhodium, it has a particularly bright shine. We offer the following wedding rings in white gold or rhodium-plated white gold:

• 333 white gold (8 carats)
• 585 white gold (14 carat)
• 750 white gold (18 carat)

Roségold

The rose-colored alloy is characterized by a particularly soft color. In some cases, this alloy color is almost the same as that of human skin. Our rose gold, however, is a very delicate rose, which, depending on the incidence of light, can also be interpreted as a rich, warm shade of yellow. With us you can get wedding rings in rose gold in the following variations:

• 585 rose gold (14 carat)
• 750 rose gold (18 carat)

Apricot

Our apricot shimmers a little more rose in color than our rose gold. It has a slightly lower percentage of silver and a higher percentage of copper, which gives it its characteristic, softer rose-colored sheen, similar to a ripe, delicious apricot. Apricot is available from us in the following alloys:

• 585 apricot
• 750 apricot

Dawnrose

A brownish-pink gold, which shimmers fascinatingly different in every light: Sometimes the alloy shines warm, cinnamon-colored and reddish, then the gold looks pinkish-red and again in another light almost purple to distinctly brown. This coloring is achieved by an alloy of gold, silver, palladium and copper. Dawnrose is available from us in the following alloy:

• 750 dawn rose

Silver

Silver has also been a very popular material in jewelry and wedding ring production for centuries. It is very soft and malleable. Rings made of silver impress with their characteristic shine. We offer the following common silver alloys:

• 925 silver

Platinum

Wedding rings made of platinum are particularly noble and therefore very popular as wedding ring material. It is very stable and you can hardly see any signs of wear even after long periods of wear. The precious metal has a mysterious white sheen, occurs only rarely in nature and is therefore particularly valuable. In addition, platinum is particularly kind to the skin due to its almost perfect purity. It is very color and dimensionally stable and is characterized by its high resistance. We offer the following platinum alloys:

• 600 platinum
• 950 platinum

Palladium

Besides gold, silver and platinum, palladium is the fourth real precious metal. It was only discovered in 1803 and named after the asteroid Pallas that had recently appeared. The metal belonging to the platinum group is naturally silver-gray. In terms of processing, hardness and durability, platinum and palladium are very similar, although palladium is noticeably lighter. You can find these palladium alloys in our range:

• 500 palladium
• 950 palladium

Stainless steel

In jewelry production, stainless steel, a particularly pure form of steel, has achieved a high value due to its physical properties. It is very hard, so wedding rings made of stainless steel are very robust and even after wearing a wedding ring made of stainless steel for a long time, you hardly see any signs of wear or signs of wear. In combination with fine jewelry materials such as gold or a diamond trim, stainless steel receives a high-quality and elegant note and also offers a very attractive price-performance ratio.

•Stainless steel

Titanium

Titanium is a metal with a gray metallic sheen, which is very light, but also very strong. In addition, titanium wedding rings are particularly suitable for allergy sufferers.

•Titanium

Retailer information

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