What Makes Memorial Jewellery “Jewellery-Grade”?
The process of creating memorial jewellery can be incredibly confusing. With so many options available, it can be difficult to know where to spend your money. There are cheap and cheerful keepsake jewellery options, often made from bright and colourful materials like plastic resin. Or you can opt for what is known as jewellery grade memorial jewellery.
This is typically made from premium quality materials and might include decorative elements like precious gemstones or glass gemstones. It often looks like any other piece of jewellery, so the sentimental value is often only known to the wearer.
In this short guide, we’ll be exploring the key defining characteristics of jewellery grade memorial jewellery, so you can make an informed decision when it comes to designing your memorial piece.
Metal Purity & Testing
First things first, jewellery grade memorial jewellery will only be made from precious metals that have been tested for purity. Why does this matter? Cheap alloy metals are often used in inferior jewellery and can impact the quality of the overall finish. It can also make the finished piece more susceptible to tarnishing, scratches and damage.
When your precious ashes are housed within the jewellery, you want to know that they are contained within pure and tested precious metals. It also means that you know exactly what you are paying for, and you can be confident that the piece will last a lifetime.
Stone Quality & Setting
It’s common to enhance jewellery with precious stones like mined diamonds or lab grown diamonds. This simple addition can elevate a piece of jewellery from a simple design and turn it into an heirloom quality piece.
When purchasing precious gemstones, it’s essential to go for jewellery grade choices. First, the stone needs to be of a high quality to ensure you enjoy all of the visual qualities of your chosen gemstone. Further to this, jewellery grade settings are essential to keep the stone secure. There isn’t much sense in placing a diamond into a poor quality setting, as there is a high risk of losing the gemstone.
Glass Tempering & Durability
If you like the look of resin jewellery because it is bright and translucent – allowing you to see the ashes within – then you might consider glass gemstones as a jewellery grade upgrade. Glass gemstones containing the ashes of a loved one will provide a safe and secure containment that will not be at risk of shrinking, degrading or changing colour.
By choosing jewellery grade designs, you can be confident your glass gemstones will be correctly tempered to make sure they are strong and durable. Poor quality glass designs can leave the gemstone vulnerable to shattering due to changes in temperature.
Repairability Standards
Another perk of jewellery grade design is that you’ll easily be able to repair it if anything goes wrong. You don’t have to go to a keepsake jewellery specialist, although it will be helpful to mention that the piece contains ashes when taking an item in for repair.
Jewellery grade pieces can easily be restored and repaired with ease, replacing broken links, buffing out scratches and removing layers of tarnishing.
Differences from Keepsake-Grade Jewellery
A cheaper alternative to jewellery grade pieces would be keepsake grade designs. These are typically made from cheaper materials and aren’t designed for longevity. Materials like resin will break down over time, so they might not stand up to day-to-day wear.
Knowing that the resin could break down, it could shrink and fall from its setting, or that the metals used could lead to discoloration on your skin might make you reluctant to wear the item very often. Unfortunately, this can mean that your memorial jewellery fails to live up to its basic requirements. Wearing it every day for comfort is often the purpose of memorial jewellery, so feeling restricted in this way can be counter to your goals.
Why Jewellery-Grade Matters for Ashes
If you are creating a memorial piece just to commemorate a loved one, then keepsake grade jewellery will often be sufficient. However, if you are planning to place ashes within the piece, then it is essential to choose superior quality materials that are considered to be jewellery grade.
This simple defining factor will help to ensure that you aren’t overspending on a piece that doesn’t offer premium quality materials. The ashes can be housed safely and securely in precious metal designs with a hidden compartment, or within a glass gemstone that has been correctly tempered.
If you are planning to add gemstones like diamonds to the piece, then it is even more important that you select jewellery grade pieces. This will ensure that the stone is correctly sourced and of a high quality. It will also ensure that the diamond setting is secure enough to prevent loss.
When designing a piece of memorial jewellery, you are essentially creating a family heirloom. It is therefore important to ensure that you can be confident the piece will last a lifetime or longer.
