Jewelry makes for some of the best gifts and ways to tell someone that you’re thinking about them.
You can customize these gifts and make them unique to an individual’s style.
In the world of jewelry, however, there are several designers.
Not all designers use real or authentic materials to create their pieces.
One famous jewelry designer is Pandora.
With an emphasis on unique designs mixing various materials, you may wonder if those materials are real.
Here’s what you need to about whether Pandora jewelry is real or not.
Is Pandora Jewelry Real?
Yes, Pandora uses real and authentic materials to make its jewelry.
In some cases, it may use fakes or man-made materials to make the pieces stronger or more attractive, but the bulk of its pieces are made with real materials.
Some of their authentic materials include:
- Gold
- Silver
- Wood
- Leather
- Gemstones
- Diamonds
What Materials Does Pandora Use In Its Jewelry?
Pandora uses several different types of materials when creating their jewelry.
Here are some of those materials and what you need to know about whether they’re real or not.
1. Gold
Pandora uses two types of gold in its jewelry: rose gold and yellow gold.
Each one uses a type of gold alloy.
The company uses an alloy instead of gold in its pure form because pure gold is too soft.
It’s easily scratchable and vulnerable to other damages.
Since Pandora wants its jewelry pieces to last for a long time, it will mix the gold with a few other materials to make it stronger.
Those alloys form the yellow gold and rose gold variants.
Regarding yellow gold, there are two main types available in Pandora’s jewelry.
The first is 18-karat gold.
This is the type that is closest to pure gold.
It has a rich yellow color that gleams in the light.
Their second type is 14-karat gold which is a little paler but still as gorgeous.
Because Pandora uses different alloys to make its yellow gold, the pieces often come out in various shades of yellow.
This further ensures that almost every piece produced is unique.
Even the same product can have some minor differences that make it special.
There are also various alloy types for the rose gold material.
When making rose gold, Pandora mixes a few different materials together.
Gold mixes with copper and silver to add a rosy hue to the material.
The level of copper used in the mixture increases or decreases the color.
Their highest gold content in rose gold is 22 karats.
Pandora also has a 14-karat material that uses 58.5% pure gold with the remaining 41.5% made up of copper and silver.
Like yellow gold, no product is ever exactly the same as another.
One might appear redder than the other while another appears more gold than the other.
This ensures that you receive an authentic and unique piece no matter what you buy.
Pandora uses gold alloys and real gold to make its jewelry.
2. Sterling Silver
Like gold, pure silver is also delicate and soft.
It’s easy to scratch and damage.
Because of that, it’s common practice for jewelers to use certain alloys to make their silver stronger.
The most popular type of alloy is sterling silver.
This is the type of silver that Pandora uses in all of its jewelry.
To classify as sterling silver, the alloy has to contain at least 92.5% pure silver.
The remaining part of the alloy can be any other type of metal.
In Pandora’s case, that other type of metal is copper.
Not only is copper cheaper, which helps bring down the price of the piece, but it’s also plentiful and does a great job of strengthening the silver.
The reason that Pandora and many other jewelers use sterling silver is that it looks exactly the same as pure silver.
It doesn’t detract from its color or luster.
Nor does it remove its mass and make it shrink.
Instead, sterling silver bolsters the best of silver and only makes it more durable for use in jewelry.
When buying silver jewelry from Pandora, you should be aware that it isn’t pure silver that you’re buying.
Every piece is going to have some copper or other metal in the silver material.
That ensures that the piece will last longer.
Pandora also goes an extra step in the production of its silver pieces.
It oxidizes its sterling silver material to make it appear even more like pure silver.
As silver ages, it starts to tarnish.
That darkens its color slightly.
Sterling silver, after going through oxidation, has the same sort of darkening happen to it.
This makes it appear like older pieces of pure silver and makes it look even more authentic.
Pandora jewelry uses real silver in its jewelry, but it’s mixed with other metals to increase its durability.
3. 14-Karat Gold-Plated
Besides having gold, Pandora also sells gold-plated pieces.
Some of its most popular pieces are made with its 14-karat gold-plated material.
If you see one of their pieces and notice that it says it’s 14k gold-plated, then you may wonder what that means and if the piece is authentic.
Pandora has a special production process for its 14k gold-plated jewelry pieces.
It starts with a metal blend core.
The jewelers mix various metals to create a strong and durable core.
This ensures that the piece lasts for a long time and is comfortable and safe to wear against your skin.
Then they cover the core with palladium.
This material creates a barrier between the gold and the metal blend core.
As such, the palladium helps preserve the color and integrity of the gold.
Since palladium comes from the same family as platinum, you can expect the piece to last for a long time.
In particular, it stops the metal from undergoing an oxidative or corrosive process.
This ensures that the gold-plating maintains its shine and durability for years to come.
The final stage of the production is the 14k gold layer.
This is made of pure gold and creates a thick enough layer that’s standard for all jewelry designers.
This type of material can use real gold because it has a strong core that helps keep it from scratching or becoming damaged.
If you want your piece to be authentic gold, then you’ll want to take a look at Pandora’s 14k gold-plated pieces.
4. 14K Rose Gold-Plated
Besides its yellow gold-plated jewelry pieces, Pandora also uses a 14k rose gold-plated material.
The metal core of this type of material uses copper and silver as its base.
It adds durability to the piece while still promoting that rose gold color.
The copper also lends enough strength that it doesn’t need a layer of palladium as the yellow gold plating does.
Instead, the rose gold plate goes on the piece directly, using
14k to do so.
The gold, copper, and silver are all pure in the mixture.
The result is a strong piece with a rose gold color and a 14k plate over it.
Pandora’s 14k rose gold-plated pieces use authentic rose gold.
5. Titanium Alloy
Certain jewelry pieces also use titanium in their production.
These pieces have a reputation for being durable and offering a clean and bright appearance.
Pandora uses titanium alloy to make up most of its metal blend cores.
However, the manufacturer also uses it in pieces made entirely of titanium.
The alloy of titanium is stronger than titanium alone.
The alloy consists of aluminum, titanium, and vanadium.
Vanadium is a strong metal that is silver-grey in color.
It’s also malleable which makes it ideal to use as an alloy mixture.
Any of the titanium pieces you find at Pandora will likely be an alloy.
It does use pure titanium in its production, but the piece as a whole isn’t pure titanium.
It uses other metals, too, to make it more durable and easier to mold into a particular form.
Pandora does not use pure titanium, but it does use the material in its alloy mixtures to create real pieces.
6. Stainless Steel
Some pieces that you’ll find at Pandora include stainless steel.
This material is an iron alloy.
It uses a stain that makes it resistant to corrosion.
That’s important for jewelry since these pieces are often exposed to water and other corrosive elements.
In terms of production, Pandora uses stainless steel minimally.
It only adds it in pieces that could use further strengthening or protection from corrosion.
For example, Pandora often uses it for clasps to ensure they don’t break or easily fall apart after multiple uses.
It also sells a few pieces that are solely made from stainless steel.
These pieces are durable, include the shine expected of stainless steel, and can last for a long time.
Regarding stainless steel, Pandora uses it to add strength to certain pieces that use clasps and other similar attachment mechanisms.
It’s real stainless steel in that it’s an alloy of iron.
7. Rhodium-Plated Sterling Silver
Like its other plated jewelry pieces, Pandora also uses rhodium plating for some of its sterling silver pieces.
Some buyers may believe this makes the sterling silver no longer authentic.
Others may believe it’s still real since the sterling silver is still in use in the piece.
Pandora uses rhodium because it’s durable and resistant to tarnishing.
Rhodium also belongs to the platinum group of metals which makes it strong and long-lasting.
When creating its rhodium-plated pieces, Pandora covers the sterling silver with it.
Not only does it make the silver harder, but it also adds to its sheen and luster.
The sterling silver is still there, but it’s enhanced and made stronger by the rhodium plating.
Pandora uses electroplating to create its various pieces that use a type of plate.
Electroplating uses electricity to bond the salts of a metal to a particular surface.
The longer that the process lasts, the thicker the plating is.
Pandora uses real sterling silver in its rhodium-plated pieces, but they’re coated in rhodium during production.
8. Man-Made Stones
Pandora uses man-made stones in some of its jewelry pieces.
For some buyers, man-made stones may call a piece’s authenticity into question.
That’s because man-made stones aren’t found in nature.
They’re made in a laboratory.
One of the hallmarks of Pandora’s man-made stones is the stone called cubic zirconia.
It’s often used in place of diamonds because it’s more environmentally sound than mining stones.
A lab creates the stone by heating zirconium oxide and then stabilizing it with magnesium and calcium.
The result is a crystal that appears like a diamond.
It’s also cubic in shape which is what gives it its name.
Because these stones are made in a lab, Pandora is able to add different colors to them.
The result is highly unique stones that you won’t find in the natural world.
However, some jewelry enthusiasts may not consider these stones real since they’re grown in a lab.
If you want real pieces at Pandora, then you’ll need to pay attention to what stones they contain.
Most of these pieces use man-made stones in their production.
9. Synthetic Stones
Like its man-made stones, Pandora also uses synthetic stones in the place of sapphires and rubies.
While it sometimes uses real rubies and sapphires, too, most of its pieces use synthetic stones instead.
That reduces the price significantly which allows Pandora to sell pieces to its target audience.
To make its synthetic stones, Pandora uses a flame fusion method.
It takes elements of the original mineral and uses a cheap method to turn them into a synthetic version of a sapphire or ruby.
The result is a stone that has the same color as sapphire or ruby.
They can also add a few other colors to make each stone wholly unique.
Since they use some of the same processes that the actual minerals undergo to create an authentic sapphire and ruby, telling the difference between the two requires an expert.
That said, some buyers will feel that the pieces aren’t real since they contain synthetic stones and not natural stones from a mine.
Pandora uses synthetic stones in many of its pieces which makes them not “real” only in the sense that they didn’t come from a mine.
10. Natural Stones
While Pandora does make the bulk of its stones in a lab, it does import mined stones, too.
The company claims that less than 1% of its stones are natural.
Because of that, some buyers may think that Pandora’s jewelry isn’t real.
However, you can find real jewelry from Pandora.
Since it’s a natural stone, you can expect the price to be higher on those pieces.
Pandora is also mindful of where it sources its natural stones from.
It doesn’t take them from areas of conflict, for example.
The company is also wary of the toll mining takes on the environment.
That’s why its focus is on synthetic and man-made stones.
If you’re looking for natural, authentic stones at Pandora, then you can find them.
11. Diamonds
Like gemstones, Pandora also takes in real diamonds.
However, it only takes in a very small number of diamonds.
Instead, the company prefers to make diamonds in its lab.
When it does source real diamonds, it only takes them from areas that have the approval of the Responsible Jewelry Council.
If you want to shop for real diamonds at Pandora, then you may have a limited selection.
Conclusion
Pandora does sell real jewelry, but these pieces often come at a higher price, and they are smaller in number.
Instead, Pandora prefers to use man-made and synthetic stones, diamonds, and metal alloys.
These make the products cheaper and more environmentally friendly than mined stones and metals.
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Misti Ducotey says
In addition to being a beautiful piece of jewelry, a soulmate necklace is also a meaningful keepsake. It’s a piece of jewelry that you can wear for years to come, and one that you can pass down to future generations as a symbol of the love that you share.