Urban Myths

Refined versus Re-used/Recycled

These words are not interchangeable when it comes to hand made jewellery. Gold is alloyed with different metals to give it other properties, such as colour and strength. The metal we use has been refined to a specific standard and a high quality. If you were to take old jewellery and melt it down, you would have no way of knowing its true karat or how many impurities are in it. However, the biggest problem that arises with re-using scrap gold is that the metal becomes brittle and porous resulting in an inferior product. Gold that is re- used often results in future cracking, pitting and breakage. All gold is recycled, but the key is that it must be refined first to make a piece that will endure. A well- made beautiful piece of jewellery will be cherished, not melted down and destroyed.