Frequently Asked Questions
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We charge sales tax for all items shipped to New York addresses.
Please e-mail us at contactus@silvari.com and we will work with you to find a local retail partner if possible.
Our designers are based all over the world and work on a made-to-order basis. Prices are subject to change, and are reflected in line with the global price per ounce of gold. We do continually update our website to keep prices current based on raw material costs.
We typically ship from New York State.
Both! Please check product listings carefully :)
“Pure” gold refers to elusive 24k gold which is very rarely used for making jewelry - it is a soft metal and far too pliable. Therefore all gold jewelry is actually a mixture of metals - this is where different colors of gold come from.
Yellow gold is pure gold + silver, copper and zinc. It is the most hypoallergenic.
White gold is pure gold + platinum, or palladium, nickel and zinc. It is more scratch-resistant and stronger than yellow gold.
Rose gold is pure gold + copper and silver, which makes it the most durable of all gold colors.
The Karat of gold refers to the purity percentage of the gold and alloy mix:
- 18k gold refers to gold that is 75% pure, with 25% alloyed metal.
- 14k gold refers to gold that is 58.5% pure, with 41.5% alloyed metal (and thus a slightly lower cost than 18k).
- Vermeil is gold plated sterling silver. The difference between “vermeil” and “gold plated/filled”, is that gold vermeil jewelry has a thicker gold layer and uses sterling silver as its base metal. This is why vermeil is a wiser choice for those who are allergic to nickel or other lesser base metals than other costume, gold-plated jewelry.
- Gold-Plated jewelry has a very thin layer of gold on the surface of the base metal, which is usually stainless steel or brass. Gold-plating is actually a process called electro-plating. The gold layer must be at least 7 millionths of an inch thick and at least be of a quality of 10k gold or better. Because the gold layer is very thin, it can wear over time with excessive wear.
All of our designers are well-suited to those with nickel sensitivities.
The Four C’s stand for Cut, Color, Clarity and Carat and together they determine the quality of the stone you are buying so each of these factors should be taken into account when making your selection.
The cut is the shape of the diamond and how it is “cut”. There are a number of different types of diamond cuts.
The color of a diamond relates to the “whiteness” of the stone. The less color a diamond has in its material the better quality it is. Color is graded from D to Z with grade D being the clearest, whitest possible stone and Z being noticeably yellow, almost brown. Diamonds should be as clear as possible because the clearer the diamond the more it will sparkle. Generally grades D, E, F, G and H are the best quality as they are near colorless. Those graded E, F, G and H will have the slightest hint of color which cannot be seen by the human eye without using a special set of master stones. Grades J and I are virtually colorless but some color will be detectable if the diamond is looked at very closely. Grades M to Z have noticeable color and the color becomes more detectable the lower the grade. We only use Grades D to G!
Clarity refers to how flawless the stone is. For example, VS stands for very slight inclusions (sometimes referred to as blemishes or imperfections) and rather like color, there are different ratings (or grades). FL stands for flawless, VVS stands for very, very slight inclusions, SI stands for slight inclusions and so on.
The clarity of a diamond is important because the clearer it is the more it will sparkle. The imperfections found in diamonds are tiny, generally only detectable under a microscope but this doesn’t affect the diamond too much when viewed with the naked eye. A higher valued diamond will have less inclusions (or imperfections).
Carat relates to the weight of the stone in question. Weight is not always reflected by size so you can have a smaller diamond which weighs more than another larger stone. However, the weight is the most important factor. While cut grade and color are the most important factors in lab grown or natural diamonds, the carat weight determines the overall size and is subjective to the individual needs of the piece in question.
A good cut grade (cut to show off the diamond to its maximum shimmering sparkle) combined with weight, color and clarity will give you the best possible quality stone.
All of the diamonds used in our jewelry are REAL.
