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Several materials are used to design ornaments. Initially, copper ornaments were used in ancient civilizations. Then bronze and brass jewelry became popular. With the discovery of gold and silver, designing and wearing jewelry became an expensive affair. Yet the charm for ornamentation continued to grow. In addition to gold and silver, pearls, platinum, and diamonds are also popular materials used in jewelry design. That said, gold continues to remain the sought after material for ornaments. Fascination for gold jewelry has only grown over the centuries.

That said, we all know that gold prices are touching the sky. This makes it impossible for the salaried or worker class to afford ornaments made of pure gold. In order to reduce the cost of gold ornaments, a small amount of a less precious metal such as copper or silver is alloyed with gold to make ornaments.

The amount of gold that is found in an alloy of gold with another metal is called the carat of the alloy. If you go to any jewelry store, you will find a rating for the carat against each ornament. If it is pure gold, then the rating is 24 carat. On the other hand, 18 carat means that the ornament is 75% gold and 25% of another, less-valuable metal.

It is extremely hard to create 24 carat gold jewelry since gold is soft, bending and cracking quite easily. Due to this low tensile strength, little flakes can be abraded off an object made out of solid gold. Purchasers can only find gold "biscuits" or coins made of nearly pure gold. Aside from those, one has to settle for something made out of an alloy.

In case your financial status does not allow you to buy 22 carat gold jewelry, please do not feel crestfallen. There are less costly options available which generate as much visual appeal as pure gold ornaments. 14k jewelry ornaments with embedded ruby, sapphire, emerald, and turquoise, known as semi precious jewelry, is one such option.

You can also get silver jewelry that is plated with gold. This looks just like gold jewelry. With high quality plating and polish, it can be very difficult to distinguish the difference with the naked eye.

With the discovery of gold and silver, designing and wearing jewelry became an expensive affair. Gold continues to remain the sought after material for ornaments. Fascination for gold jewelery jewelry has only grown over the centuries. If you are not one of those people who can expend a fortune on gold jewelry, don't be dismayed. There are a variety of ways to buy jewelry that looks just as good, often better, than 22 carat jewelry. One way to do this is to buy semi precious jewelry that combines semi precious stones like sapphires, rubies, and emeralds with 14k jewelry.