Solid, all the way through
Every Seolune piece is solid gold. Not plated, not filled, not vermeil, not hollow. Cut one in half and it is the same metal in the middle as on the surface.
This matters because plating wears off. A plated piece looks like gold until the day it stops, and there is no repair for that — only replating, again and again. Solid gold gets scratched, softened, and worn smooth at the edges, and it is still gold underneath. That is the difference between a piece you keep and a piece you replace.
14K and 18K
Karat is how much of the metal is gold, out of twenty-four parts.
14K is fourteen parts gold to ten parts other metals — stamped 585, for 58.5% gold. The alloy makes it harder, which is why we set most of our diamonds in it. It holds a prong and it holds a shape.
18K is eighteen parts gold to six — stamped 750, for 75% gold. More gold, so a warmer and deeper colour, and a slightly softer metal. It is the choice when the colour of the gold is the point of the piece.
Neither is better. They are different trades between hardness and colour, and both are solid gold.
Yellow, white and rose
The gold is the same in all three; what changes is what it is alloyed with. Yellow is the closest to gold's own colour. Rose takes more copper, which warms it. White takes metals that lighten it and is finished with rhodium, a bright white plating on the surface — this is the one part of a white gold piece that will wear, over years, and we re-plate it as part of the annual polish.
How to read the stamp
Look inside a ring band, or on the tag beside a clasp. You will find 585 or 750, and our maker's mark. On very small pieces there is no surface flat enough to stamp — for those, the fineness is stated on the certificate that comes with your piece.
Weight
We publish the gram weight of every piece, at its reference size. Larger sizes weigh slightly more, smaller ones slightly less. We publish it because it is most of what you are paying for and you should be able to check it.