Jewelry Lingo Part I: Three Categories of Jewelry
Jewelry terminology, especially as it relates to ‘Sustainable jewelry’, can be complex. If you have ever been curious to understand if a jewelry piece is ‘fine jewelry‘ or if you do not quite understand what marks like 925 and 14/20GF mean, then these are for you.
In this first part, I will break down ‘fashion jewelry,’ ‘fine jewelry,’ and a new term for me, ‘bridge jewelry.’
Fashion Jewelry
Appreciated for attainability as an accessory that makes a statement, fashion jewelry is everywhere. This category of jewelry can be picked up right alongside clothing in shops, online, or at craft markets. All at an affordable price for most income brackets.
Downside to Fashion Jewelry
Unfortunately, the low price tag of some of this jewelry often comes at the cost of low-quality materials and/or labor. Resins, plastics and glass go dull. Unidentified base metals lose their clear coating, along with shine and color. A year or so later, it is piled in a drawer unwanted and eventually joins the hoard of fast fashion waste in our landfills. I am absolutely not shaming the purchase of fashion jewelry. I have bought and even made my share of fashion jewelry. Like many things in my life, I now look at these potential purchases with a pause to consider their full life cycle.
The Artisans of Fashion Jewelry
Some of those craft stalls and online shops are true artisans selling fashion jewelry with attention to detail, efforts for longevity, or upcycling discarded items to give them a second life. For many years I upcycled silverplated silverware. Even with the silver ear wires and posts, these would be considered fashion jewelry. These days, I occasionally make small repairs, when possible, to my jewelry clients' fashion jewelry. Though repairs to low-quality materials can be tricky, if I can prevent something from immediately joining a landfill or causing a trash burn, I want to help.
Fine Jewelry
Words that come to mind when we hear ‘fine jewelry’ include investment, heirloom pieces, engagement, and special occasion. This category of jewelry is defined mainly by its precious metals, including silver, gold, platinum, and palladium. Besides the precious metals, customers come to expect gemstones to be genuine even if they are lab-grown, heat-treated, or semi-precious. With quality materials, even if ownership or styles change, the material can be used again and again.
Downsides to Fine Jewelry
Perhaps the first thing that really comes to mind is ‘expensive.’ With the finest materials and craftsmanship comes a high price point, and not everyone can afford or wishes to pay; thus, this category of jewelry is often unattainable. The other area which is not always addressed here is the impact of obtaining these materials. The mining industry can be detrimental to the natural environment and become a place of injustice in the treatment and wages of the workers. Even stones marketed as ‘conflict-free’ can be passed between so many hands before reaching the customer that the actual source is lost.
The Artisans of Fine Jewerly
Besides the big brand jewelry companies, there are many artisans and small businesses working in fine jewelry. I do not make a lot of fine jewelry pieces, but when I do, I try to mostly use recycled metal, and I am consistently looking for ways to increase the percentage that is recycled. For my stones, I use second-hand stones or buy from small businesses doing the mining themselves or working directly with the miners to confirm the stones are conflict-free.
Bridge Jewelry
Some jewelry designs have a little more metal craftmanship compared to fashion jewelry. However, these same designs may utilize base metals like copper and brass, which are easily identified but quickly patina and are more likely to react with some people’s skin. Instead of pure gold, gold plating and gold-filled elements cut costs, especially when gold is 100x the price of silver.
Downsides to Bridge Jewelry
Base metals found in some bridge jewelry, like brass and copper, may not be worth refining and reshaping on a small scale when the design is no longer desired. Compared to solid gold, gold plating is an affordable option for a beautiful finish but gold is soft and always wears down. With regular use, this thin layer of gold can wear away, revealing the metal underneath, and will require replating. These designs, even when hand-crafted, may not have the intricate details of fine jewelry, which can only be achieved by longer hours of hand work or expensive machinery.
Artisans of Bridge Jewelry
When I came across the term ‘bridge jewelry,’ I was happy to learn that there is a way to categorize the majority of my current jewelry designs. I have a variety of designs that I individually hand-craft, utilizing techniques that let me turn out a beautiful piece faster than my fine jewelry pieces. For pieces where I want gold-luster, I use gold plating or a technique called keum-boo. I accompany these with gold-filled chains and ear wires. This allows me to provide quality jewelry pieces at an attainable price for more clients. As a bonus, if a customer ever loses an earring, I can always remake one.
Ultimately, I think there is a place for jewelry lovers to keep all three of these categories with some mindfulness of sustainability. I would recommend buying fashion jewelry that is designed to age well and designs you will want to wear again and again instead of just for a seasonal trend. I would recommend fine jewelry from makers who use ethically mined or lab-grown stones with an identifiable relationship to the source instead of a label added to appease buyers. If buying bridge jewelry, then it is just that- a bridge of these priorities.
In part II, I will cover the details of metal lingo like ‘925’ and ‘14/20GF’ to help you understand what you are looking at when purchasing jewelry.