• The Romans called it “Aurum”, the French call it “Or” and we simply call it "the perfect gift for any occasion!"
• Gold and Gold jewelry has been coveted almost since the dawn of time. But have you ever wondered what is it that makes Gold so special?
  
  Let's find out!

• Gold is a very, very stubborn element! It does not react to most acids, and can stand the test of time unlike any other metal.
• It won’t tarnish, it won’t rust or corrode, and though being very strong, it is also the most malleable of all known metals!
• Gold is almost indestructible and has been used and reused for centuries to the extent that all gold of known existence is almost equal to all the gold that has ever been mined!
• ‘Money’ represents value in Gold. Gold is ‘value’, in itself. For e.g., 10gms of pure Gold has a ‘value’ in itself! It is we, who express it in a ‘currency’.
• It is the safest, most trusted, time-tested form of investment.

Purity or carat refers to the amount of Gold in a metal alloy. Pure 100%, 24ct gold is too soft for making jewelry or for everyday wear and tear.

Hence it is mixed with other metals to make it harder and more durable. Following are the B.I.S. approved standards for Gold carats or purity. (Carat = ct)

• 24ct = 99.9% Gold Fine
• 24ct = 99.5% Gold Standard
• 23ct = 95.8% Gold
• 22ct = 91.6% Gold
• 18ct = 75.0% Gold
• 14ct = 58.3% Gold
• 10ct = 41.6% Gold

Gold is generally mixed with Silver, Copper, and Nickel to get the desired purity.

In India, ‘Gold only’ jewelry is preferably made in 23cts or 22cts to retain its natural yellow color due to the higher purity, while Gemstone or Diamond Jewelry is made in 18ct for more strength and durability.

Jewelry made in 18ct Gold takes a better polish due to its harder surface, and hence 18ct Gold is an excellent purity grade for creating Wedding or Engagement Bands.

Yellow Gold:

Color of yellow Gold is dependant on two main factors, the metal purity, and the type of metal used in the alloy.

For e.g., a 22ct Gold ring having more of Silver than Copper will have a whitish appearance, while the same ring with more of Copper will give a reddish brown color.

White Gold

White gold is not Platinum or Silver!

It is simply Gold, created by mixing Gold with a white metal like Nickel or Palladium, which gives it the characteristic white color.

Like yellow Gold, the purity of White Gold is also expressed in carats. Generally, all White Gold jewelry is plated with the element Rhodium, which gives it a very beautiful white, lustrous shine.

Over time the Rhodium plating of the surface wears off, but it is a simple procedure to re-plate it and retain the luster of the ornament.

The price of Gold ornaments is primarily dependant on the Gold purity, and on the amount of skilled work applied in making the design and construction of the individual jewel piece.

For e.g. a simple Gold band made in 18ct Gold will cost much less than a Gold and Diamond ring having a complicated and intricate design.

• Strictly keep gold away from Chlorine, cleaning fluids and Mercury! These will damage and discolor your ornament.
• To clean Gold ornaments, use a jewelry cleaner or warm water with a mild detergent, and gently scrub with a soft brush, which will remove most of the dust and debris clogged inside.
• In case an ornament is unused, keep it separately in a dry box or pouch.
• DO NOT store pearl jewelry made in Gold or Silver in velvet pouches, because Pearls are organic Gemstones, and they will absorb the color of the velvet cloth!

Questions asked by our shoppers:

Q: “When we break\melt Gold ornaments, why do jewelers deduct a wastage amount? Isn’t everyone’s 22ct or 23ct Gold the same?”

Ans: Yes, mostly every jeweler’s caratage is the same with maybe a negligible difference, but since the jeweler generally utilizes your Gold for making new ornaments, he cannot use it as it is.

The reason being the following:

Every jeweler can use different metals to ‘get’ to a caratage.

For e.g. to make a 22ct gold alloy (91.6%), a jeweler mixes 8% of other metals with pure 100% gold.

Now, one particular jeweler might use 4% silver and 4% copper, but some other might be using 6% copper with 2% silver, and yet another might use 5% silver with 3% copper!

So, now if he uses your Gold alloy made with a different mix of metals directly for his new jewels, it would totally disrupt the ornament color in case of miscalculations!

So to avoid that,

1) He has to completely melt your ornament,

2) Purify the gold back to 100% purity,

3) Re-make the alloy,

4) Only then can he use it in making a new ornament!

Since Gold has to be purified in a Gold refinery, as in any refinery, some part of the metal is invariably lost in the purifying process. And to add to it, if your Gold ornament was soldered by some external metal, that weight is also lost!

Hence, generally a jeweler heats ups an ornament and then depending on the color\appearance\softness of the ornament, the jeweler estimates the mixing metals used, the solder used, the loss expected, and deducts the same from the calculation.

Q: “But then my jeweler does not deduct wastage from ornaments that he has himself previously made, why is that so?”

Ans: The answer is again the same, since the ornament was created by him, he knows exactly which metals were used to make the alloy, due to which he can use it directly for making new ornaments.

Since there’s no need to refine, there is no loss of Gold.

Browse our Wedding Bands.

• Silver has been known since thousands of years and has long been respected as a precious metal, used in making ornaments, high-value tableware and currency coins.
• Silver is a very ductile and malleable (slightly harder than gold) with a brilliant white metallic lustre that can take a high degree of polish.
• In fact, Silver takes the highest polish among all precious metals! Silver is second only to Gold in many respects.

• Silver has good working qualities, like it is malleable, easily tempered and bends without cracking.
• It is light in density, yet possesses great tensile strength and is resistant to many corrosive substances, being an amazing candidate for making ornaments!
• It is unarguably the second most attractive metal widely used in ornaments!

• No matter how beautiful Silver looks; it does get tarnished, a natural occurrence which results in dullness. This happens because Silver reacts with Sulphur or Hydrogen Sulphide in the atmosphere.
• To prevent this, it is advised to keep all Silver wares and ornaments in a dry place, and in a clean, dry, preferably in an airtight plastic bag or a cloth pouch.
• Ironically, if Silver jewelry or wares are used on a daily basis, they are less prone to get tarnished! This is because of regular contact with water and soap.
• In case there is some dullness or tarnish build-up on your Silver item, it is easily removed by any ordinary Silver polish, available at Hardware or jewelry stores.

• The price difference in raw Gold and Silver is enormous! Hence the cost of Silver jewelry is also extremely low than Gold.
• The overall cost of Silver jewelry or Silver Wares is dependant on the cost of Silver and the nature of the ornament (craftsmanship required).

Browse our Silver Gifts and Wares

• The knowledge and existence of Platinum goes only a few hundred years, compared to thousands for Gold.
• Heavier than gold and virtually impossible to corrode with gases or chemicals, since 1751, platinum was recognized as a newly discovered element.
• Platinum jewelry remained rare until around the nineteenth century, when high-temperature jewelers’ torches were developed. As jewelers became more adept at using platinum, it quickly became the diamond’s best buddy!

• Platinum is rare, and is 30 times rarer than gold! In fact, it is estimated that if all the platinum in the world were poured into a single Olympic sized swimming pool, it would scarcely be deep enough to cover your ankles!
• And being the hardest metal used in making jewels, it requires highly skilled workmanship, specialized tools and a dedicated setup to work with it.
• It is not coincidence that Platinum jewels are indeed very special!
• Whenever a precious metal gets scratched (gold or silver) some minute part of it is lost, but this does not happen with Platinum! Even if the metal is scratched on the surface, it is so strong, that it will usually not chip or splinter!
• Its specific gravity is almost twice that of 10 carat yellow gold. This higher density makes it very appealing in fine jewelry. In recent years Platinum has rapidly grown in popularity because its lustre brings out the brilliance of diamonds far better than yellow gold.
• After using Platinum for a brief period, Platinum jewelry develops a patina of wear. Many people prefer this look, which is endemic to Platinum.

Light of Venus is proud to be India’s first and only online store to provide:

• Platinum Prongs: on all Solitaire, Three-stone, and Side-stone rings!
• Diamond rings made in Platinum!
• Platinum Band Rings!

• Platinum is extremely tough, it does not tarnish, rust or corrode and is generally unharmed by regular household cleaning fluids, although it is advised to keep Platinum away from bleaches and other cleaning agents.
• For cleaning, gently scrubbing Platinum ornaments in a solution of a jewelry cleaner or some mild soap and warm water is usually all that is required to remove dust and debris and keep the metal shining!

B.I.S, the Bureau of Indian Standards is the Government of India’s quality control wing, and is also called the ‘National Standards Body’.

The principle objectives of the Gold Hallmarking Scheme are:

• To protect the public against the fraud of adulteration in gold ornaments and
• To obligate manufacturers to maintain legal standards of fineness in gold.

Hallmarking is the accurate determination and official recording of the proportionate content of gold, in an ornament or alloy. Hallmarks are thus official marks used in many countries as a guarantee of purity or fineness of gold jewelry.

The B.I.S. Hallmarking Scheme has been aligned with International criteria on hallmarking (Vienna Convention, 1972).

• Once an ornament is prepared in the respective caratage, it is sent in one of the B.I.S. approved assaying centres.
• The assaying centre’s technicians remove a small portion of metal from inside the ornament, to avoid false results from the surface’s polish.
• After a small quantity is removed, it is checked via sophisticated instruments.
• Once the purity of the same is established, the ornament is approved and stamped. (Click here to view the Hallmark stamp.)
• If the item does not meet the required standards, it is given a ‘failed’ status and sent back to the manufacturer.

• Guaranteed Gold purity!
• Completely removes possibility of being cheated by dubious jewelers.
• Establishes Gold carat standard, which benefits both, the consumers and the industry.
• Since an actual portion of metal is tested, it is 100% accurate, and does not yield biased results like ‘carat meters’.
• Instead of depending on a jeweler, just by looking at the stamp, you can be sure of the gold purity.

Questions asked by our Shoppers:

Q: “My local jeweler does not give hallmarked gold, but my family is going to him for the last 2-3 generations, why shouldn’t I trust him?”

Ans: You should definitely trust him. But one problem that might arise later...

…let us imagine for a moment that you shift your base to a different state or even a different country.

Now for some reason if you need to liquidate these gold ornaments you made at your native jeweler in this new foreign place, how and why will these new people trust your old jeweler?

In such a case, you will have to unnecessarily lose a certain amount of gold. If you would have purchased hallmarked gold, this problem would never arise, since the ‘new jeweler’ is bound to accept the Gold at the same caratage.

Q: “I got the shock of my life when I went to my family jeweler with a branded jewelry item that I had bought elsewhere. This branded item was ‘guaranteed’ by the brand, not by any authorizing body. He checked the item by melting it and conformed that it was a lower caratage than what was declared by the brand. I feel completely cheated, what do I do in such a case?”

Ans: Unfortunately, in India, such things do prevail.

The one and only way to avoid being duped like this is to always buy hallmarked gold ornaments. Not only is it approved by a legal government authorized body, but it is recognized throughout the country, and even in most foreign countries!

Also in the future, if you wish to liquidate these hallmarked ornaments, you should not expect any wastage or deductions on them.

Q: “How do I identify a Hallmarked Gold Jewel, How do I know whether mine is actually hallmarked?”

Ans: You can check whether your newly bought jewel is hallmarked or not by looking behind the jewel, there you should see a small stamp, with the Hallmark details.

Click here to see the hallmark stamp with its explanation.

• Prongs are the thin metal bars that hold your Diamonds in place. They are created in such a way that they serve 2 key purposes:
• They hold and secure a Diamond in the setting, and
• Allows maximum light to pass through a Diamond, making it look brilliant and beautiful.

• Platinum is the hardest and toughest of all metals used in ornaments, hence we offer the option of setting your precious Diamonds in Platinum Prongs, to make them highly secure.
• Light of Venus is the first online store in India, introducing Platinum Prongs on many rings such as Solitaire, 3 Stone, 5 stone, channel set, micro pave rings. Simply select the “Platinum Prongs” option on the particular ring page.
• Even if Platinum gets scratched, it is many times stronger than gold and in maximum cases, Platinum will not chip or break-off, holding the diamonds in place.
• Secondly, Platinum is extremely tough! Whenever a precious metal like gold or silver gets scratched some minute part of it is lost, but this does not happen with Platinum! The scratch on any jewelry made of Platinum is merely a displacement of the metal and none of its volume is lost!
• This property of Platinum gives the jewelry a beautiful patina of wear after a certain amount of time, and many people throughout the world love this ‘look’ that their jewelry gets due to Platinum.

Click here to see an image of Platinum Prongs

Browse the Engagement Diamond Ring Collection here.
(Where you can select Platinum Prongs)