Here at Double Entendre Jewelry we think of ourselves as quite progressive. So we're using a couple of new metal alloys that have only been around for a few years and are superior to the traditional alloys.
Argentium(TM) sterling silver is a tarnish resistant alloy that is also stronger than traditional sterling silver. It's still "sterling" because it contains the requisite 92.5% silver in the mix, but we prefer it because of it's extreme tarnish resistance. We hate tarnish. We'd rather be rubbing some flesh than rubbing a hunk of silver to get the tarnish off. (Please note: while the main body of each
silver piece is Argentium(TM), the key chains and necklaces are
standard sterling silver.)
Traditionally, yellow gold is alloyed with nickel to create "white gold". But it's not really white and usually has to be rhodium plated to mask the residual yellow tinge. Also, many people are allergic to the nickel, so we prefer not to use it.
A new alloy for "white gold" uses palladium, which is a metal in the platinum family. Palladium has most of the features of platinum, but is less dense and less expensive. The resulting "white gold" is really white and doesn't need plating. So we choose to use palladium white gold in our jewelry. If you have questions about any of this, please drop us an email.
