Education Page
Become an expert with our jewelry education and choose the jewelry that fit your budget, taste and style. For a lifetime of wear, look for platinum wedding band that is stamped with a fineness mark of 950 Plat or Plat. This indicates the level of purity that will not tarnish or wear down. At Benkol Bridals, all our platinum wedding rings are made of 950 platinum. The most appealing characteristics of platinum is its durability. Each time other metals are scratched or polished, a tiny bit of metal is lost. in fact, prongs of white gold and yellow gold may wear down enough that you need to have them reinforced with more for safety. But with platinum , a scratch in platinum may leave a mark on the metal but this metal is so that it will not readily chip or splinter, hence we set all loose diamonds in safe, secure platinum prongs. While it is the strongest of jewelry metals, it can be scratched and develop a patina ( satin sheen on the surface of platinum produced by daily wear & tiny scratches) of which is unique to platinum. When selecting a setting for a diamond, we recommend using a platinum head, platinum cool white sheen beautifully accentuates the sparkle and brilliance of a diamond and its great strength holds the gem firmly. The majority of our platinum jewelry is 95 percent pure platinum combined with 5 percent Iridium, palladium, ruthenium or other alloys. For guaranteed quality in platinum, look for the marks 950 Plat or Plat. Soaking platinum in a mild solution of soap and warm water and gently scrubbing it with a soft-bristled brush is usually all that is required to maintain the metal’s luster. Gold jewelries are categorized according to the quality of the gold present. 24 Karat – 100% gold : Too soft for jewelry 22 Karat – 91.7% gold : Not recommended for jewelry 18 Karat – 75.0 % gold : Recommended for fine jewelry 14 Karat - 58.3% gold : Recommended for jewelry 12 Karat – 50.0% gold : Not acceptable for jewelry 10 Karat – 41.7% gold : the legal Karat limit considered as real gold in the Gold don’t tarnish, rust or corrode and though it’s very strong, it is the most malleable of all metals. Pure gold is too soft to withstand the stress of everyday wear, so it is alloyed with a mixture of metals like silver, copper, nickel, zinc to give it strength and durability. Karatage, denoted by a number followed by ‘”K” indicating the purity or how much of the metal in a piece of jewelry is gold. The colour of a gold is determined by two factors 1. The type of metal alloys included in it 2. The percentage of each metal alloy YELLOW GOLD In Benkol bridals, we have 18K gold. It is composed of 75% gold, which is alloyed with other metals to make it strong enough to withstand everyday wear. The colour of 14K gold is not as rich as 18K gold. WHITE GOLD 18K White gold is 75% Gold, jewelry made from this metal has a slight yellow colour. This is bleached yellow gold as the natural color of gold is yellowish and never white. To enhance the whiteness, almost all white gold is plated with Rhodium, a shiny, white metal which is extremely hard. Depending on the amount of wear to a piece of jewelry, overtime, this rhodium plating may wear off, revealing the original metal colour. Re-plating is a simple process that can be done to restore your jewelry’s whiteness if needed. ROSE GOLD Rose gold gets its colour from a larger proportion of copper in the metal alloy. This gives the gold a beautiful pink colour. The price of gold jewelry is dependent upon the purity of the gold used or karat weight, as well as the design and construction of the piece of jewelry. Keep your gold jewelry away from harsh chemicals such as chlorine and cleaning fluids which will reduce the daily abrasions and prolong gold’s luster. Toclean gold jewelry, use a solution of warm water and detergent-free soap and wash gold gently with a soft-bristled brush. Benkol bridals recognizes the importance of understanding exactly what you are buying. This guide simplifies the four C’s – cut, colour, clarity and carat weight, as well as diamond shapes and certifications. Shapes refers to the overall outline of the diamond when viewed from the top. We have a collection of traditional round diamonds and we also offer the finest quality, non-round or ‘fancy-shaped’, diamond available in round, princess-cut, Asscher-cut and Emerald-cut shapes. Diamond shapes are very different, unique characteristics determine the quality for each shapes. The cut of a diamond determines its brilliance. Diamond cut is probably the most important to consider, as it has a direct correlation to a diamond appearance. A diamond with Ideal (excellent cut grade proportions will return the maximum amount of light to the viewer’s eye). Diamond cut grading scale is as follows: 1. Ideal 2. very good 3. good 4. fair 5. poor Colour is the second most important aspect when choosing a diamond. Colour becomes important when considering diamonds. The colour in diamond is graded from D to Z. At Benkol bridals you will get finest diamond colour graded from D-J. This indicates how ‘clean’ the diamond is or how many inclusions (i.e. scratches, trace minerals or other tiny characteristics) the diamond has. Inclusions are important to consider. Diamond clarity areas follows: FL,IF – flawless, internally flawless : no internal or external flawless. Very rare and beautiful diamond. VVS1, VVS 2- very very slightly included: very difficult to see inclusion. An excellent quality diamond. VS1, VS2 – very slightly included: inclusions are not typicall visible to the unaided eye. Less expensive than the VVS1 or VVS2 grades. SI1, SI2 – slightly included: inclusions may be visible with unaided eye. A good diamond value I1, I2, I3 - included CARAT WEIGHT The diamond prices rises exponentially with carat weight. The carat weight of diamond ranges are; ¼ ,1/3 , ½ , ¾ , 1, 1 ½ , 2, 3, 4, 5 Before purchasing a diamond, you should expect to review a copy of its certificate as proof that it has undergone an unbiased, professional examination. CARE A solution of one part of ammonia and six parts water can be used to clean diamond jewelry at home. If cleaning by hand, gently scrubbing with a soft brush should loosen most dirt and gently increase the brilliance of the diamond, but be careful not to scratch the metal of your setting. GEMSTONES A gemstone or gem (also called a precious or semi-precious stone) is a piece of attractive mineral, which—when cut and polished—is used to make jewelry or other adornments. Most gemstones are hard, but some soft minerals are used in jewelry because of their lustre or other physical properties that have aesthetic value. Rarity is another characteristic that lends value to a gemstone. Gems are characterized in terms of refractive index, dispersion, specific gravity, hardness, cleavage, fracture, and luster. They may exhibit pleochroism or double refraction. They may have luminescence and a distinctive absorption spectrum. CUTTING AND POLISHING A few gemstones are used as gems in the crystal or other form in which they are found. Most however, are cut and polished for usage as jewelry. COLOUR Color is the most obvious and attractive feature of gemstones. The color of any material is due to the nature of light itself. Daylight, often called white light, is actually a mixture of different colors of light. TREATMENT Color is the most obvious and attractive feature of gemstones. The color of any material is due to the nature of light itself. Daylight, often called white light, is actually a mixture of different colors of light. Below are the various types of treatment for gemstones; HEAT Heat can improve gemstone color or clarity. The heating process has been well known to gem miners and cutters for centuries, and in many stone types heating is a common practice. RADIATION Virtually all blue topaz, both the lighter and the darker blue shades such as "London" blue, has been irradiated to change the color from white to blue. Some improperly handled gems which do not pass through normal legal channels may have a slight residual radiation, though strong requirements on imported stones are in place to ensure public safety. Most greened quartz (Oro Verde) is also irradiated to achieve the yellow-green color. WAXING/OILING TREATMENT Emeralds containing natural fissures are sometimes filled with wax or oil to disguise them. This wax or oil is also colored to make the emerald appear of better color as well as clarity. Turquoise is also commonly treated in a similar manner. FRACTURE FILLING Fracture filling has been in use with different gemstones such as diamonds, emeralds and sapphires. Rubies over 10 carat (2 g) with large fractures were filled with lead glass, thus dramatically improving the appearance (of larger rubies in particular). Such treatments are fairly easy to detect.PLATINUM (the rarest metal on earth), is a hard metal and it is far more expensive than gold.
CARE
GOLD
PURITY
COLOUR
PRICING
CARE
DIAMOND
SHAPES
CUT
COLOUR
CLARITY
CERTIFICATION
TESTIMONIALS
You will not be disappointed......
If you are looking for quality diamond and a your choice of setting then, Benkol is the place to shop. Before my wedding I tried shopping for my wedding band in other shops but what I saw did not give me my dream diamond. Until I went to Benkol website and made my choice. What amazed me most is the delivery time and infact, my wedding band came exactly the way I saw it on the website, wow !! ‘sparkling’
I love Benkol
JIDE – LEKKI PHASE 1 - FEBRUARY 2009
It was a Glorious Experience dealing with Benkol
I and my wife were a bit skeptical about handing everything about our wedding (from A – Z) over to Benkol initially, but since we are so tight scheduled we are left with no other option. Thank God we did because everything our D-day were so organized that my friends were like “when did you have such a time to organize your wedding”. I must confess that it was splendid !
HENRY – SURULERE – DECEMBER 2007
