How Much Is Black Hills Gold Jewelry Worth?

Buying jewelry is a huge financial decision. You need to carefully think about what you should and should not buy because the price of precious metals keeps changing.

You have your standard options, including pure gold, white gold, platinum, and silver. Then there’s Black Hills Gold, which brings something unique to the table.

Black Hills Gold offers unique and timeless jewelry pieces that people buy when looking for something precious that exudes quality. Yes, Black Hills Gold is pure gold, but it has varying shades, which sets it apart.

Black Hills Gold Composition

The first thing you need to know about Black Hills Gold is that it does not refer to a particular gold type, like yellow gold or white gold. The name is given to the jewelry’s unique design and characteristics, such as vines, leaves, and grapes.

Jewelry made from Black Hills Gold is not just some precious accessory but a work of art. One of the reasons the finished jewelry might cost more than a gold ring in the same karat is the labor cost.

Black Hills Gold is made from three different colored gold, including yellow gold, pink gold, and green gold. Pink gold is used to create the grapes, green gold is for leaves, and yellow gold is for vines. The pieces are manufactured separately and later soldiered together to create a design.

Let’s take a look at pink gold and green gold in detail:

Pink Gold

In the 1800s, a new variation of gold emerged called rose gold. It quickly became a favorite of Russian elitists. After 1917’s October Revolution, when the nobility escaped and made it to the west, they bartered with gold to acquire land. When the demand for rose gold grew, sellers were only willing to offer something in return if the metal exchanged hands.

In the 1920s, the popularity of rose gold was at the top, but a few years later, it fell from stardom and was no longer considered fashionable.

Rose gold is made with pure gold mixed with specific alloys to give it a light red shade. As the quantity of these alloys increases, the red shade becomes lighter. This is where pink gold comes in.

There are four types of rose gold, which include:

• 18K Pink Gold (5% Silver, 20% Copper, and 75% Gold)
• 18K Rose Gold (2.75% Silver, 22.25% Copper, and 75% Gold)
• 18K Red Gold (25% Silver and 75% Gold)
• 12K Red Gold (50% Copper and 50% Gold)

Even though rose and pink gold contain more alloys, the price of an 18K pink gold ring is the same as a yellow gold ring. If you lower the karat, the quality becomes cheaper.

Pink gold is softer than rose gold and requires more maintenance. Only 18K red gold with silver as an alloy is hypoallergenic. Since the rest have copper, they don’t possess this characteristic.

Green Gold

Green gold goes all the way back to the 6th century BC.

It was used as a currency in Lydia (Turkey). At one point, green gold was considered white gold in Ancient Egypt. It was used to construct pyramids. Today, people like Abdulrazak Gurnah, Maria Ressa, and Benjamin List, all Nobel Prize winners, hold trophies made of green gold.

Green gold is made with pure gold, copper, silver, nickel, zinc, and cadmium. It is available in 14K and 18K.

History of Black Hills Gold

It’s named after a mountain range in the North American Great Plains, once occupied by the Native American tribes. In 1874, people started buying gold quickly when General George Armstrong Custer’s scout discovered the yellow metal in the Black hills.

The legend says that in 1876, a French goldsmith named Henri LeBeau came to Black Hills looking for gold. Since he was not familiar with the land, he got lost. After much searching, he stumbled onto a grape patch, saving him. Exhausted and disappointed, he dragged his feet back to his camp, where he drew grape designs for jewelry, symbolizing good luck.

And that’s how the name Black Hills Gold came to be!

The first-ever company that produced Black Hills Gold jewelry was Landstrom. It was bought out and formed a partnership with Mount Rushmore Gold. Today, the gold is extracted from the Black Hills, and the jewelry is made in Rapid City.

The designs were made by hand, which was a first. Today, a computer program “Matrix” is used to create the design. The digital design is then sent to a 3D printer for

fabrication.

The manufacturer carves out wax and creates a silver copy with the design in hand. If a similar design needs to be made again, the manufacturer refers to the master copy.

The gold is put between two thin rubber layers and is heated. Once the master copy’s imprint is inserted with plastic, the design is put on a wax tree. The next step is casting, which is a complex process and requires 24 hours,

Each design has more than 1,000 styles and shapes. The green leaves are 10% zinc, 40% silver, and 50% gold. Pink leaves are 50% copper and 50% pure gold.

Thanks to its warm shades, one of the best things about Black Hills Gold is that it creates the most beautiful setting for diamonds.

Conclusion

The price of Black Hills Gold jewelry is the same as pure gold. We are talking about in terms of karat and not design. Since this jewelry’s design is quite unique, few jewelers have it in their shops.

People with certain tastes prefer this jewelry. Many of them are not familiar with this jewelry, so they still think they are simply buying gold even when buying it. Ask the jewelry about everything from karat to clarity, purity, and a few tips on how to store it to prevent scratches.