Pure gold is extremely soft. If jewelry were made using pure gold, it would scuff, dent and warp from daily wear in just a few short days. As a result, all gold jewelry is made from an alloy that is created by combining pure gold with a variety of other metals. The purity of this gold is measured using the karat system, which provides information on what percentage of any type of gold is made up of pure gold.

Gold karatage is expressed in parts out of 24. For example, pure gold is 24K, as all 24 out of 24 parts consist of pure gold. 18K gold consists of 18 parts pure gold mixed with 6 parts other metals and is approximately 75% pure gold. 14K gold, on the other hand, consists of 14 parts pure gold mixed with 10 parts other metals and is approximately 58.3% of the total metal. 

Most of our jewelry pieces come standard in 14K gold due to the fact that it is more durable and less prone to dents and dings than 18K gold. When it comes to white gold, there's also no color difference between 14K and 18K white gold and, as a result, we typically do not offer 18K white gold unless a customer specifically requests it. 

If you are interested in having your jewelry set in yellow gold we do offer both 14K and 18K options. From a durability perspective, we prefer 14K yellow gold over 18K yellow gold, but 18K gold is more richly colored given the higher percentage of pure gold it contains. If you are trying to match your Mazedara piece to other 18K yellow gold pieces already in your collection, we would suggest getting your Mazedara piece set in 18K gold as well.

We do! We typically only suggest platinum when a customer's allergy makes white gold a poor option, but we are happy to set any piece in platinum at your request!

You can see the difference in the way the settings are structured on the product pages for each of the earrings. Basket-style settings have a flat bottom, with the stone further away from the ear. This setting has more of a tendency to droop so if you have ear holes that have gotten stretched over the years, you may need to wear a spacer or buy supportive earring backs to wear with this setting. The benefit of a basket setting is that the stone "pops" a bit more and may look bigger in this setting.

Martini settings are shaped like a cone, and their V-shape resembles a martini glass when looked at from the side. In this setting, the diamond sits closer to the ear and is less likely to droop. All else being equal, we probably prefer the martini setting but it really is personal preference! 

Feel free to email us with any other questions we didn't answer here!

Due to the way they are constructed, full eternity bands cannot be resized. Given that eternity bands tend to be taller than most engagement rings, it is also easier to size up in eternity bands and not have to worry about your ring coming off of your finger easily. Sizing up also gives you more flexibility as to which finger you can wear your eternity band on down the road! Of course, the decision is up to you but for reference, our founder wears a size 6 in her engagement ring and sized up to a size 7 for her eternity band so that she could wear it on both hands as well as on her middle finger. We typically suggest sizing up a half size up rather than a full size.