This page is about the metals we use to make our rings. If you're more interested in the process we use to make rings, see About... Our Rings.

Sterling Silver

Traditional sterling silver is an alloy of 92.5% pure silver and 7.5% copper. We work primarily in this metal and keep a wide range of ring sizes (22g/1.5mm to 12g/12.0mm in ¼mm increments) in six wire shapes (round, square, diamond, twisted, half round and multistrand) cut, polished and in stock at all times.

Argentium Sterling

Argentium sterling is a relatively new sterling alloy in which a small amount of the copper has been replaced with germanium, a member of the silicon family. It's identical to traditional stering in appearance when polished but Argentium resists tarnish far longer than traditional sterling and will fuse. It has all the desirable properties of fine silver but with the strength and hardness of traditional sterling,We keep a wide range of sizes (22g/1.5mm to 12g/12.0mm in ¼mm increments) in six wire shapes (round, square, diamond, twisted, half round and multistrand) cut, polished and in stock at all times.

Copper

We use pure copper (99.9% which is as pure as copper gets) and we harden it for strength. The finished rings are a little bit softer than our sterling rings, but not much. We keep a wide range of sizes (22g/1.5mm to 12g/12.0mm in ¼mm increments) in six wire shapes (round, square, diamond, twisted, half round and multistrand) cut, polished and in stock at all times.

Palladium Sterling

Palladium is a member of the platinum family and 30 times rarer than gold. It's whiter than platinum and does not tarnish. Palladium sterling is a very new alloy of 97% pure silver and 3% palladium. It's believed that palladium sterling will not tarnish. We've had some sitting out in the open since June of '07 and it shows no evidence of tarnish. Palladium sterling is harder and stronger than traditional sterling and appears to shine more brilliantly, probably because of the finer, harder surface.

We currently stock one kitpack in palladium sterling (available in this kit) and we make rings of it by custom order. You can request a quote using this form.

Platinum Sterling

Platinum sterling is a very new alloy of 99% pure silver and 1% platinum. It's believed that platinum sterling will not tarnish. We've had some sitting out in the open since June of '07 and it shows no evidence of tarnish. Platinum sterling is harder and stronger than palladium sterling and appears to shine still more brilliantly, probably because of the finer, harder surface. It costs considerably more than palladium sterling and because it's harder and we haven't yet cut it in heavy gauges, we aren't sure how heavy we'll be able to go with it.

We make platinum sterling rings by custom order. You can request a quote using this form.

Fine Silver & 24K Gold

Fine silver (.999 silver) and 24K gold aren't suitable for butted maille because they're too soft in their unalloyed state. There are people who disagree with that assessment and use fine silver to make butted maille. For us, though, durability is of primary importance and, no matter what you do to it, fine silver won't get harder than half hard sterling. Our sterling rings start out as half hard wire but the process we put it through hardens the finished rings far beyond that point. That same process hardens 18K gold to the point that 16g rings are a workout to close and 14K gold becomes so stiff it's not even workable with smooth jawed pliers. (Which is why we don't make 14K gold rings.) That degree of strength might not be a requirement for every project but we make rings with the expectation that the jewelry made from them will be heirlooms, passed down from generation to generation. So we make every ring to those standards.

The only advantages to using fine silver are the slow tarnish rate and the fact that it can be fused rather than soldered. Argentium provides both of those advantages without any sacrifice of strength so that's what we recommend for those times when fine silver might otherwise be appealing.

Fine silver and 24K gold are perfect for making loop-in-loop chains, however, because not only can the pure metals be fused, as opposed to soldered, which results in closed rings strong enough for stretching, shaping and drawing, but it remains soft and workable which is what's needed for that particular application. So we make those rings by custom order, though we do not yet offer them fused. Request a quote if you'd like some of those rings.

18K Yellow, Red, Pink, Green & Palladium White Gold

We make solid 18K gold rings by custom order with a minimum quantity requirement of 50 rings. We often make a few extras and list them on our 18K Gold page so check there if 50 rings is more than you need.

Our production process, which was specifically developed to harden relatively soft precious metals in order to produce very durable butted maille, hardens gold so much that 14K gold rings and 18K gold rings heavier than 16 gauge are too rigid to work with smooth jawed pliers. For this reason, we currently produce only high karat gold rings no heavier than 16 gauge. If you're interested in a custom order, please first visit our 18K Gold page for general pricing information, then request a quote.