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Gold, or rather golds

At Chaumet, only 18 carat gold is used, i.e. 750°/°° fine gold, available in three colours:

3N yellow gold. Composed of gold (75%), silver (12.5%) and copper (12.5%), proportions that yield the most beautiful yellow gold colour.

5N rose gold. Composed of gold (75%), silver (6%) and copper (19%), proportions that yield the most beautiful rose gold colour.

White gold, also known as palladium white gold 13% is composed of gold (75%), palladium (13%) and silver (12%), and covered with a thin layer of rhodium. This rare hypoallergenic metal belonging to the platinum family gives white gold a unique lustre, brightness and shine. This jewellery needs to be handled with care, and can benefit from another rhodium bath after several years to regain its original lustre.

Gold is a symbol of light and eternity. It is unalterable and does not react with air, water regardless of temperature, or acids. With a hardness of 5 on the Mohs scale, it is malleable enough to be easily worked by drawing, rolling or casting, into leaf form, strands or round grains.

Gold can be enamelled, inlaid, engraved and embossed. It remains unchanged even melted several times. It can be combined with other metals to change its colour, increase its strength or influence its hardness… Gold has a verifiable qualification expressed in either carats or fractions using the decimal system, in parts per 1000.

Pure gold without alloys is 24 carats. As this is too soft (hardness 2.5 to 3), it is alloyed with other metals to harden it. A hallmark is stamped onto all the gold jewellery, certifying 18 carat quality.

At Chaumet, only platinum 950°/°° is used, meaning it is almost pure with 95% platinum in the alloy. The hallmarks are an eagle’s head for gold and a dog’s head for platinum.

Because it was considered an impurity of silver when it was discovered by the Spanish in Colombia, platinum is now the most precious metal in the world and a symbol of eternity. Rare and resistant to corrosion like gold, its exceptional qualities of density, malleability and ductility, as well as its bright silvery white colour have made it a metal that is highly valued by jewellers.

Chaumet has been using platinum since the late 19th century in its creations, especially for tiaras. In fact, as it is more resistant and ductile than gold, platinum requires less metal to form finer settings and openwork.

Combined with the « fil-couteau » technique that is very characteristic of Chaumet, great lightness is achieved in the platinum settings, almost making the metal vanish before our eyes, leaving the stones to express their beauty.