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Article Index- Stratify™ Fashion Jewelry
Stratify™ Fashion Jewelry
Modified: December 2011
by Jerry Sisk, GG; Co-Founder, Jewelry Television®; Haley Maples, JTV® Buyer;
PAJ, JTV® Vendor & Judy Crowell, Style and Trend Jewelry Expert
Exclusively produced for Jewelry Television®, Stratify™ is a collection of stylish jewelry that offers you the same look, feel, and allure of yellow, white, or rose gold without the associated high prices. The name Stratify™ signifies that each piece of jewelry is generously clad with layer upon layer of precious 18 karat gold over .925 sterling silver. Luxurious 18 karat gold, which is 75% pure gold, is one of the most desirable gold karatages to possess. Treat yourself to the richness of Stratify™ today only on Jewelry Television® and jtv.com.
Ultimate Style, Nominal Pricing
Since the dawn of civilized man, gold has been treasured for the precious commodity that it is. Our love affair with gold dates back thousands of years easily making it the most sought after metal on Earth. Wars have been fought for it and love has been declared with it. Famous explorers struck out from their European homeland and crossed oceans in search of it.
We would all have to agree that gold is indeed a finite resource and as such its prices are set by the economic principle of supply and demand. As we’ve witnessed in the past year, all-time per ounce price records have been set, and as of July 2011 the current price is well over $1,500 per ounce. Just one short decade ago, gold was trading for around $300 per ounce!
With prices spiraling upward with no end in sight, jewelry manufacturers are turning to more inventive manufacturing methods that incorporate precious gold into their designs along with sterling silver. This is where Stratify™ jewelry comes into the picture.
The Manufacturing Process
The Stratify™ collection offers the look, feel, and enduring quality of gold via a process of fusing 20mls of 18 karat gold over .925 sterling silver. This is accomplished through an electromagnetic and chemical process which deposits the 18 karat gold to the sterling silver.
During this process, the product to be plated is gently lowered into an 18 karat gold bath. Electrical currents gently attract the gold to layer onto the sterling silver piece. Our manufacturer uses only 18 karat gold because it permits more luster and depth of color, plus it’s more stable and longer wearing than 14 or 10 karat gold.
Produced exclusively for JTV®, every attention to detail is specifically addressed by our vendor who has over 30 years of experience in perfecting the process. Their quality and craftsmanship is readily apparent with each richly elegant piece. The luster of each piece is simply dynamic.
Plus, the life of each Stratify™ piece is longer than that of jewelry created by other manufacturers. Our manufacturer has created an intensely detailed process of preparing the sterling silver beforehand so that it is beautifully polished and buffed allowing the gold to cling to the surface and harden on contact which better binds and fuses the two precious metals together. The expert workmanship creates a smooth, velvety finish that is in the same realm as fine gold jewelry.
Our manufacturer’s expertise, as well as their passion, is evident in the finished beauty of every item. The result? The identical look and feel of 18 karat gold jewelry. Believe us when we say that you will be hard pressed to tell the difference!
Gold Karatage
Gold karatage is a measure of gold’s fineness, consisting of 24 parts in total. Thus, 24 karat gold is composed of 24 parts of pure (.999 fine) gold with no alloys present.
Because 24 karat gold is impractical, other metals (alloys) are added to it to produce 10 karat, 14 karat and 18 karat gold jewelry products. As you might guess, since 24 karat gold is really too soft for frequent wear in jewelry, the most desirable karatage is 18 karat which is exactly what the surface of every Stratify™ piece is made of.
Stratify™ unites genuine 18 karat gold to sterling silver for a dazzling finish. Every time.
As you’ve come to expect from JTV®, we offer you only the most desirable metal colors to choose from with Stratify™: yellow, white and rose gold! Layers of extravagant 18 karat gold fused with sterling silver give you the same look of gold jewelry without the guilt of expensive gold jewelry. Each piece is 100% nickel free eliminating the likelihood of any type of allergic reaction. With Stratify™ jewelry you can choose from an array of real genuine gemstones: white sapphire, red jade, coral, smoky quartz, chrome diopside, prasiolite….just to name a few. Indulge in radiant and long lasting elegance today.
Care and Cleaning
Your Stratify jewelry is made of 18K gold over sterling silver so you can be confident that it’s durable and built to last. Remember, all jewelry requires TLC for long-term wear and lasting beauty.
Storage: Take advantage of the individual compartments in a jewelry box, divided drawers or a travel pouch. Gemstones can scratch one another if they all get jumbled together, and if you’re not careful to keep pieces separated from one another, then they can even scratch the gold or silver settings.
Cleaning: Don’t overdo it, and don’t use steam cleaning or ultra-sonic cleaners. For Stratify pieces, all you really need on a regular basis is a soft, lint-free cloth. That should do a fine job of keeping it free from surface dust and dirt.
Keep in mind that in both the Stratify and Blooming Jewels Collections some gemstones are set with an adhesive instead of with prongs (this is a common practice with opaques or cabochons like turquoise or lapis). Therefore, it’s smart not to immerse your jewelry in water or a liquid jewelry cleaner for very long. Rinse and make sure you always dry them well.
