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 Antique lovers often associate red or Russian gold with a trunk
full of red gold ducats and ruble coins. And they are right. For ages, gold has
been a symbol of stability, prosperity and an excellent investment. There is no
person who could resist the sight of gold glimmering in the light. Red gold pendants, rings and necklaces will enthrall
any fashionista with their unique and elegant look. Pure gold chains, bracelets
or watches of celebrated brands will set a man apart from the crowd and boost his
status, indicating the prosperity of the wearer.
Red Gold in History
Gold became known to our ancestors back in the fifth
millennium BC, but first golden jewelry dates back to 2000 years later. While
pure gold is yellow in color, gold can also appear to have other colors. These
colors are generally obtained by alloying gold with other elements in various
proportions. Red gold is an alloy of gold and copper, which gives gold its red
shade. In tsarist Russia, red (or chervonnoe) gold was used for minting coins,
whence comes the name chervonets (or tchervonets), a currency of the Russian
Empire. Originally a term for coins of purer alloy, the name was later applied
to various sums in Russian rubles.
Before the reign of Peter I, the name chervonets was applied
to various foreign gold coins in circulation in Russia, mostly Dutch ducats and
sequins. In 1701, Russia introduced its own gold chervonets, which had the same
mass (3.47 g) and alloy (.986) as the ducat. Chervontsy were minted until 1757
when they were displaced by the golden ruble (with a lower alloy) and by
counterfeits of the Netherlands ducat, which by then met the demand for trade
in gold coins. Before the revolution of 1917, Russian jewelers used red gold for
wedding bands, though the alloy was soft and deformed easily, therefore the
rings were massive and thick. For comparison, at that time, an average red gold
ring weighed 8 grams, while its present day yellow gold counterpart hardly
weights 2 grams. To achieve a noble tone and shine, silver was added to the
alloy. The content of ligation (additives) determines the countermark (pure
gold content) of the alloy. The higher copper content, the more saturated is
the color of the alloy, and lower the countermark.
Red Gold and Contemporary Jewelers
Today, fashionistas and jewelry buyers around the globe prefer
vintage pieces or golden designer jewelry with refined and elegant design that
could easily pass as family heirloom. Recently, Spanish jewelry house Ramon
presented a collection of the now popular cocktail rings. The creative effort
of the Ramon artisans was inspired by two historical epochs: the exuberant belle
époque of Louis XIV, with the grandiose Versailles balls, beautiful elegant dames
with weird high hairdos wearing ridiculously expensive gowns with bows, ribbons
and ruches, and jazz age, 1930's America, Al Capone New York, Prohibition and
flapper fashion. At first glance, the cocktail rings are very chunky, but this
is merely an illusion. The Ramon jewelers used a unique method to create gold
lace ornament framing brightly colored gemstones - onyx, citrine, moonstone and
quartz. The gold palette is diverse - white, yellow and, of course, red gold is
used.
The famous luxury brand Cartier launched a collection of
men's watches. The watch case is made of red gold, which perfectly frames the
silver dial with sapphire glass. The strap is brown alligator leather complete
with an intricately shaped clasp made of red gold. The prices for the Cartier
pieces start from $17,000.
Jewelers play with all sorts of options for the use of colored
gold. Particularly popular is jewelry combining several different alloys, like red,
yellow, white or black gold.
Recently, Louis Vuitton presented L'ame du Voyage (The
Spirit of Travel) haute jewelry collection by Paris-based designer Lorenz Baumer.
The collection includes six unique sets, with a one-of-a-kind necklace the
focal point of each, the prices running up to $2.5 million. The theme of the
collection is circles, which Baumer describes as a symbol of perfection.
Circles - in red, white and yellow gold,-overlapping and glinting with colorful
stones - make up one bib style, which Baumer refers to as Masai in honor of the
bright collars worn by the semi-nomadic African people. Another remarkable
piece is an architectural marvel of swooping ovals and loops that intertwine,
with sapphires and faintest blush of pink sheltered amid a roller coaster of
small white stones.
Colored gold has captured the imagination of jewelry
designer Payson Cooper. Her specialty is wedding jewelry and red, white and
yellow gold pendants and necklaces. Payson's signature style is customizing
jewelry and incorporating the handwriting of the future wearer in its design
which makes all her pieces absolutely unique and exclusive. The customer gets
to choose what he or she wants to see engraved on their pendants - a line of
poetry, their signature, or their slogan. The prices start as low as $250 and
run up to $2000.
From times immemorial, gold has always been the focus of our
attention. It has been a sign of good taste, an attribute of wealth and power.
Red gold makes its wearer special and shows that he or she honors the
tradition, but at the same time can appreciate the true beauty of modern
jewelry.
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