The Brooker Standard:
What alloys & solders do we use?
We always start from virgin 999 fine gold to maintain the purest and cleanest alloys. Yellow, White, and rose alloys are always premium and of the highest quality. All our pieces are made from rolling alloys, not casting alloys.
Any jeweler will tell you that the weakest point of your ring is the solder. That's why we try to avoid soldering where possible. Instead, we fuse joints with a torch, similar to welding. This forms an amalgamous seam that is metalurgically undetectable. Where we do solder, we use the highest-quality, color-matched, cadmium-free, plumb solder(true to the purity of your piece).
Alloy metals include: Copper, Silver, Zinc, Nickel (For white gold), or Palladium (Highest quality white gold alloy, upon request).
Do your stones come with certifications?
Yes! We only purchase large stones certified by GIA or IGI. We send the paperwork and certifications with your order.
Durablility?
We spend hours upon hours handcrafting every piece of jewelry, and we pour our souls into everything we make. When we make you a piece of jewelry, we expect that you are going to wear it every day for the rest of your life. So we build them that way. We don't buy cheap materials. The last thing I want is to have to fix your ring. - Wyatt
What is the difference between 14k and 18k?
14k is 58.5% pure gold. This is a standard alloy, and the most durable while maintaining the properties of gold. Such as tarnish resistance, and rich yellow color.
18k is the perfect balance of a rich yellow gold color and duability, while maintaining 75% pure gold content. The color difference is noticeably richer than 14k.
The Handmade Process Vs. Casting
Have you ever had a prong break and lose a stone? Has your ring cracked just by wearing it? For two years in the repair business, this is what I saw every day. All I did was fix casted jewelry.
Casting requires special alloys that are hard immediately after they've cooled. This is efficient for mass production, but any jewelry made this way comes at the price of being brittle. The traditional way to harden a metal is to work it and form it. This is called work hardening. Rings made from work-hardened alloys are tougher and last longer than casting alloys ever will. It's the difference between a cast-iron pan and a folded Damascus steel blade. The worked steel will always outperform.
All of our pieces are formed from rolling alloys. This requires us to hammer, roll, and fabricate the metal into shape before finishing. This process is ancient, time-tested, and superior. However, it is time-consuming, intense, and requires much training and skill, but it yields the toughest, most durable, and highest quality jewelry hands can make. We truly are goldsmiths.