There is such a thing as softer metals for jewelry and the most common is gold. However, because of its characteristics, it is impossible to create jewelry from 24 karat gold. This is because it would be soft and would not hold well. For this reason when you see an ad about 24 karat gold jewelry, keep in mind that it refers to 99% gold with a little allow added to give it strength.
Some of the metals used to create this strength in gold jewelry are copper, fine silver, brass, nickel, low carbon steel, and sterling silver. Silver is used even if it is considered a soft metal because it is harder than gold and so can bring the needed durability to gold jewelry. There are different kinds of silver, and if you have tiny scraps of silver jewelry you don’t use, you can melt these down to create a new piece of jewelry, provided you get the right instructions on how to do it.
Some of the silver used to create jewelry are Bali Silver, Argentum Sterling Silver which is 92.5% pure, fine silver which is 99.9% pure, Hill Tribe Silver which comes from Thailand and is almost 99% pure, German silver which is also known as Nickel Silver, and Oxidized Sterling Silver, to name just a few.
When you hear about plated jewelry like gold-plated, it means that the jewelry has a base metal form and the precious metal merely coats this form to add luster and shine. Gold-plated or silver-plated jewelry are cheaper, can easily tarnish and last but a few years. People who are allergic to certain metals should stay away from plated jewelry.
When you see Sterling Silver as the description of jewelry, this means it is an alloy of 92.5% silver with the rest being copper. It is not as white as pure silver but it is more durable with a tendency to tarnish. You can prevent tarnishing by storing it in a sealed container and away from other metals.
Finally, colored gold refers to gold mixed with other metals like copper, nickel and silver. Gold and copper produces a reddish gold; gold and nickel produced white gold; whereas gold and silver produces a green gold shade.