Celebrating Mother Earth With Sustainable Jewelry

 

We are celebrating Mother Earth this month!  Earth Day is April 22nd and Mother’s Day is in May, so we want to acknowledge our environment and all the mothers that teach their families to love our beautiful earth!

Did you know that some metals are more eco friendly than others?  Silver has been used in jewelry nearly as long as gold.  Like gold, pure silver is soft and commonly mixed with other metals to improve durability for use in jewelry. Silver is normally mixed with copper and there are several levels of purity that indicate how pure the Silver is.  Hope you find this information as interesting as we do.

Here are the different types of silver used in jewelry making:

  • Sterling Silver possesses at least 92.5% pure Silver, (.925), and the other components can vary. Sterling is considered a standard among silver grades and provides durability to ensure that pieces like rings, bracelets and necklaces can be worn daily!  We use .925 sterling silver in our Beksan silver pieces!
  • Silver Plate is a thin layer of Fine Silver placed over a base metal. Also known as Silver Tone, Silver Plate is often considered the most cost-effective alternative to the more expensive forms of silver jewelry. However, this form of silver is very thin and can wear off easily.  It also quickly changes in appearance and color.

  • Zinc dipped in Sterling Silver starts with a base metal of zinc and then is dipped in .925 sterling silver. Our zinc dipped in silver pieces have been very popular.  Zinc dipped in silver is also considered a sustainable metal.

 

Many of our customers ask, “what is 24k gold vermeil?” (we use this sustainable metal in some of our jewelry): 

  • If you see "14k", "18k", “24k” (less likely in the US) or another karat before the word "vermeil", this simply refers to how much gold content there is: 24k is 99.9% gold content, 18k is 75% gold content, 14k is 58.3% and 10k is 41.7%. Interesting, right?
  • Vermeil is a jewelry technique, originating in the 19th century, where gold is melted over a base of sterling silver and the gold layer must be at least 2.5 microns. Mixing gold with other materials changes the hue of the gold and thus the dark richer yellow tone of 24k gold vermeil. In this case, it is 99% melted gold over our base metal of sterling silver.  

It’s wonderful to share our eco-friendly metals with our customers.  To support our planet, we intentionally use sustainable metals and natural gemstones in our jewelry.

We invite you to explore the variety of popular pieces that our awesomely stylish shoppers have chosen as their top picks from our Beksan Designs sterling silver & 24k gold vermeil collections:

 

  • Inspiring natural gemstones, mixed metals & textures: Fashion right now is all about interesting unique pieces with texture and story.  At Beksan Designs we focus on creating handmade, sustainable jewelry with style and meaning!  

 

 

 
  • Geometric earrings, rings & necklaces:  This includes oval, round/circular, and square shape jewelry designs. Whether the meaning is circle of life or a nature theme, you’ll stand out in these beautiful, symbolic pieces.

 

 

We’ve put together a Sustainable and Stylish Collection that highlights our popular jewelry designs and includes selected pieces in the newest styles.  Click HERE to check it out now and have fun shopping for YOU or someone you love! 

SHOP NOW 

 

 

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