Since the widespread use of titanium and aluminum, non-traditional jewelry materials have become popular in the jewelry circle. For the jewelry circle, which is born with a high threshold and has always been valued for nature and rarity, it is difficult for many people to imagine that non-traditional metals can replace precious metals that have participated in thousands of years of jewelry history. How did titanium, aluminum, and magnesium become popular as "newcomers" in the jewelry circle? What is their charm? With doubts, come and uncover the truth for you now!
Gold, platinum, silver are stable properties, suitable for jewelry common precious metals, why "expensive", very direct reason is that their mineral reserves in nature are small, now in the jewelry circle popular non-traditional metals are not, titanium, aluminum, magnesium as metal elements in the crust content are very high, all ranked in the top ten of the overall amount. Nevertheless, they do not have a metallic form in nature, but exist in the form of ore, and must be refined into pure metals to be used as materials for jewelry, which is completely different from gold and silver.
Chopard Red Carpet necklace
In order to make the metal harder, "18K gold" containing 75% gold, "Pt950" containing 95% platinum and "925 silver" containing 92.5% silver are more widely used in the jewelry circle, when titanium first appeared in the jewelry circle, many people saw the name with "gold" and thought it also contained gold, in fact, titanium does not contain gold, but titanium based on titanium, which is a major difference between the jewelry circle using non-traditional metals and traditional precious metals.
Neha Dani titanium, 18K white gold Paraiba, sapphire, diamond ring
For jewelry of the same size, jewelry made of titanium will be much lighter than gold and silver, because the density of titanium is 4.51g/cm3, which is only one-fifth of the density of gold. At the same time, their hardness is also higher than that of traditional precious metals, making jewelry not only less deformable, but also not worrying about scratching the surface.
When titanium, metal aluminum and magnesium metal are more and more widely used in the jewelry circle, many people will question, since they are not "precious metals", their own value is not as good as gold, platinum, why can they become popular in the jewelry circle? If you look at history, a certain material or style of jewelry can become popular, either by an influential fashion KOL, or a subversive "innovation experiment" by a designer or artist has succeeded. The reason why non-traditional metals have become popular in jewelry circles is undoubtedly the latter.
Wallace Chan Chen Shiying's "Purple Moon Good Fortune" necklace
At the end of the 20th century, a group of subversive and highly personal jewelry designers stood out in the jewelry world, seeing jewelry as not only a decorative decoration to wear, but also a work of art. But back then, when it came to creating big piece jewelry, the inevitable weight was a big problem for jewelry designers. Because titanium and aluminum metal are much less dense than gold, as long as they can be understood, jewelry creation will have more room to play, which made many jewelry masters at that time extremely interested.
Swiss jeweler Suzanne Syz rose gold and aluminium diamond bracelet
In the eyes of artists, art and creation are above all else, and choosing more suitable materials is more important than "expensive" materials. Jewelry artists JAR, Chen Shiying, Cindy Chao are all pioneers in the use of non-traditional metals, and Chen Shiying spent 8 years researching in order to master the art of titanium jewelry, and in 2007, he first showed a butterfly brooch made of titanium, allowing everyone to see the truly light butterfly jewelry.
Wallace Chan Chen Shiying Long Zhao Riyue work details
As more and more jewelry designers use non-traditional metal materials, these materials are also playing with various new styles and tricks. Nowadays, jewelry fans no longer only recognize traditional valuable precious metals, but are also willing to pay for the creativity of complex craftsmanship, ingenuity and novelty, and titanium, aluminum and magnesium metals characterized by light and color have also "conquered" more and more people.
Stephen Webster Stephen Webster's Skydiamond series Orbital Piercer earrings
A.win Siu Xiaoxin with titanium earrings Titanium, tourmaline, colored sapphire
Jewelry made of titanium, aluminum, and magnesium metal is very light and colorful, what is the difference between the three in the use of jewelry? Who do you think is more beautiful? Check it out now!
Titanium
Among the commonly used non-traditional metals, titanium is more widely used, because of the use of jewelry masters, many people are already familiar with it. Bright color is a major feature of titanium, unlike our common white gold, yellow gold and rose gold, titanium does not need to be fused with other metals, and it can be brilliant on its own! Through oxidation, titanium surfaces can take on a rainbow of rich colors, including bright cobalt blue, intense fuchsia and verdant green, which are unimaginably brilliant colors in traditional jewelry creation. What's even more incredible is that a piece of titanium jewelry can show different colors, and gradient colors are even more fascinating.
Wallace Chan Celestial Beauty brooch
Many people will be afraid of the color of titanium fading, this problem is not a worry at all. Because the vast majority of titanium jewelry is "colored" by anodizing, this method will produce a dense oxide film on the surface of titanium, which is transparent in itself, but at different voltages, its thickness is not the same, and it shows different colors after the refraction of light. Since this oxide film is very stable, it is difficult to be destroyed, so there is no need to worry about the problem of fading the jewelry.
Cindy Chao Art Jewelry Titanium Setting Craft Drawing
The popularity of titanium jewelry is indispensable to the unswerving exploration of jewelry artists, each with a unique style. Chen Shiying is keen to give titanium a wild idea, and will also fuse titanium with different new materials, truly turning titanium, known as the "metal of the future", into futuristic jewelry.
Wallace Chan Se-ying Beauteous Days ring
Whether it's the iconic butterfly collection or inspired by elements such as feathers and ribbons, "lightness" has always been Cindy Chao's keyword, and in her work, the replacement of traditional precious metals with titanium seems inevitable. In 2012, Cindy Chao first created the "Rebirth Butterfly" with titanium as the main material, and since then has never stopped refining the titanium process, especially in titanium inlay, from the K gold prong and titanium diamond joint technology to the double-sided setting of titanium, challenging higher technical difficulties while still maintaining her unique sense of luxury and artistry.
Cindy Chao Art Jewelry 2022 Black Label Masterpiece II Picasso Dream Earrings
Today, the use of titanium is also permeated in everyday jewelry, such as Tiffany & Co.'s special titanium chain HardWear jewelry, Messika's Move Titanium men's jewelry collection, in addition to Louis Vuitton's iconic charity Silver Lockit bracelet series also has a new choice of titanium. They are mostly silver, gray and graphite, and impress people with lighter weight, so that Chao Ku can "travel light"!
Tiffany & Co. Tiffany & Co. HardWear Titanium, 18K rose gold paved diamond necklace
When niche jewelers around the world have successively conquered the basic titanium craftsmanship, those titanium jewelry that is more "creative" than "dazzling" has become richer! Countless niche jewelers have diversified new expressions of titanium with their own iconic styles, so that we who pursue individuality have more choices.
London jeweler Glenn Spiro, who specializes in combining titanium color with gemstones, has always made common elements simple and advanced.
British jeweler Glenn Spiro titanium and white gold sapphire, diamond butterfly ring
Suzanne Syz, a female designer from Zurich, Switzerland, often has her mind open to making titanium appear in pleats, bends, weaves and geometries you wouldn't expect.
Swiss jeweler Suzanne Syz Jaipur's Treasures bracelet Titanium, white gold, moonstone, champagne diamonds
Aluminum
In addition to titanium, aluminum metal has also been commonly used in the past two years, not only jewelry designers, jewelry brands will also use aluminum to create jewelry. Compared to titanium, aluminum with a density of 2.8g/cm3 will be lighter, and it is half lighter than titanium for jewelry of the same size.
The difference between aluminum and titanium is not only in density, but also in color. You will find that most titanium jewelry has a strong sense of luster, while aluminum metal is mostly matte, the color is not so bright, it appears more restrained and textured.
Hemmerle Cornflower cornflower stud earrings anodized aluminum, white gold, silver, diamonds, tanzanite
Master jeweler JAR loves aluminum, and his famous Rose Petal earrings and pansy earrings are made of this material, restoring the lightness and grace of the petals.
JAR Rose Petal earrings
Hemmerle is another professional in the use of aluminium, a brand of German origin that has always sought the realism of nature. All of their jewelry shows great skill and achieves the effect of fake reality, so they are never limited by whether the jewelry material is precious or not, and often use aluminum to "replicate" the texture of natural flowers, fruits and other plants.
Hemmerle floral earrings anodized aluminium, white karat gold, tanzanite
In the hands of Hemmerle's craftsmen, aluminium can imitate any material: petals, branches, leaves, and then set with gorgeous gemstones, setting off the beauty of the gemstones with a light and authentic natural color, making the whole piece "live" and blooming with more vibrant colors.
Hemmerle Rose rose brooch anodized aluminum, white gold, diamonds
De Beers Jewellers jewelry also combines titanium and aluminum in fine jewelry to create colorful pieces, and the two different textures of titanium and aluminum are intuitively displayed in these pieces.
De Beers Jewellers The Alchemist of Light High Jewelry collection
Among young designers, French designer Emmanuel Tarpin was also fascinated by the potential of aluminium, once saying: "Everything from color gradients, polishing, and matte to the texture of brushed aluminium or the shape and brightness of this piece, is a contrast." I love the feeling of wearing fine jewelry without caring about its weight, because a perfect piece of jewelry must be both precious and wearable. ”
Emmanuel Tarpin purple floral earrings Aluminum, K gold, Mozambican rubellite
At Christie's auction in 2017, he sold for $25,000 in geranium earrings designed with aluminum and diamonds, which made him a hit in jewelry circles.
Emmanuel Tarpin Geranium earrings Aluminum, K gold, diamonds
Jewelry designer Anabela Chan also makes some of her work in aluminium, and uses recycled aluminum from beverage cans, which is very special, but it does not detract from the sophistication and splendor of the piece.
Magnesium metal
Compared with titanium and aluminum, magnesium is more niche and lighter. The density of magnesium metal is only 1.74/cm3, and the weight of magnesium is 30% lighter than aluminum, only one-third of titanium and one-tenth of gold. It stands to reason that with the lightness of titanium and aluminum, it is completely enough to make jewelry, why use magnesium?
This year, Boucheron, which really uses magnesium to create fine jewelry, tells us the answer with its new Carte Blanche, More is More collection: unless the piece is bigger than you think!
This extra-large Tie The Knot oversized bow hair accessory from magnesium weighs just 94 grams in a bold red on one side and black and white stripes on the other. To create the piece, the craftsmen first had to design a delicate striped shape for the piece, then dye it black using electrophoresis, and finally enter the inlay process. Setting diamonds on magnesium metal is challenging if damage occurs during setting and the prong cannot continue to be soldered to magnesium.
Looking at so much titanium, aluminum and magnesium, you will find that they actually have their own characteristics, jewelry because they have more possibilities, stronger artistry, what unexpected works will these unconventional metals create in the future? Will more metals be used in jewelry? Let's look forward to it together!
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