Jewelry findings are a common item at DaMa Jewelry Technology Inc. and other jewelry suppliers and manufacturers. But what are jewelry findings? Here are some answers about common jewelry supply terms and measurements.
What are jewelry findings?
• The term "findings" refers to most metal jewelry components, which normally consist of bar pins, posts, charms, barrette backs, pieces for earrings, to name just a few of the very large amount of items that are jewelry components.
What is the most common measurement used when referring to the jewelry finding industry?
• Probably the most common unit of measurement is a gross which is usually abbreviated as GR. One gross, or 1 gross, is 12 dozen, or 144 pieces, no matter what type of jewelry component you are talking about.
How come I find jewelry components listed with a weight?
•Sometimes a weight, for example grams, will be used instead of going by the number of pieces, but this normally only happens when referring to very small findings, for example crimp beads, due to their size. Most other components are sold by the gross. However, some beads are measured in 50 gram bags, adding in discounts if you buy them by the full kilograms. Since one kilogram is equal to 1000 grams, the 50 gram bag is only 1/20th of the full kilogram bag. Thus, most of the items that are measured like this are rather inexpensive and often irregular in size.
What is a mass?
• One mass is equal to 1200 beads. You will find components sold by mass more often by Czech manufacturers since they normally package their beads by the mass. Quanity discounts are common for those who desire full masses of a particular size, color, or type of bead.
What is a base metal?
• A base metal is a term to cover a lot in the jewelry industry, especially when dealing with metals used for costume jewelry. When referring to metal working, a base metal is any metal that is not considered one of the noble or precious metals. Precious metals usually refers to platinum, gold, and silver. Base metals include iron, steel (which is an alloy of iron and other metals), copper, brass (which is an alloy of copper and other metals), nickel, lead, and tin. When talking about costume jewelry, base metals are usually plated with nickel, silver, gold, or rhodium, although many are first plated with copper. Often, gold plated items also have a white nickel plate underneath of the final gold plate. Pewter includes many silver - gray alloys of tin that have differing amounts of antimony, copper, and sometimes even lead, although due to health hazards, lead is uncommon to find in pewter anymore.
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