All the gold in this world was formed millions of years ago, born in the extreme heat and pressure of dying stars. When thousands of meteors riven with gold collided with our planet, the gold sank deep into the molten core of Earth. Over millennia, it has been nudged to the surface by superheated streams, threading itself through rocks and pooling into lumpy nuggets and forming slender veins as it goes. It waits for us there to shape it into beautiful things that will last long after we are gone.
Human ingenuity has led us to invent real (if not natural) lab created diamonds, emeralds and other precious stones. But we cannot make gold, much as renaissance alchemists may have tried. All that there ever was, is all that there ever will be. It has been here forever, and it will be here forever.
Solid gold has always been the only choice for true heirloom jewelry: it will never corrode or tarnish. It cannot be destroyed, only transformed. Pieces that are tens of thousands years old still gleam in museums, reminding us that gold is forever.
A little background
Gold, as a resource, is outrageously expensive ($1800 for a mere ounce, though jewelers pay more than the spot price) and just keeps getting moreso. It’s outperformed the stock market since, well, forever. There’s a good reason that a lot of new jewelry companies are popping up using the term “investment jewelry”: when you buy solid gold it will almost certainly become more valuable over time, like any good investment. Except when it’s jewelry, you get to wear that asset every day. I believe this is what they call a win-win.
When I founded CE, I desperately wanted to craft my designs in solid gold, but I couldn’t even afford the raw metals to make samples. Of course, it doesn’t help that I refused to compromise on design just to make things a little cheaper. Each of our pendants is very thick and weighty, which matters a great deal when you’re dealing with solid gold. Every single milligram adds to the price.
I wanted to create pieces that were affordable but still precious, so I chose to produce my first collections in 18k Gold Vermeil. I felt this was the next-best option to solid gold, with a much more approachable price tag.
How we're making Solid Gold
Since we launched, we’ve been inundated with requests for solid gold, and I’ve been trying to find a way that we could do it without sacrificing design or quality. Today, I am so happy to announce that we’ve figured it out!
All Common Era pendants are now available in solid 14k gold as made-to-order pieces. That means we don’t just keep them in stock - we make each one for you in New York. It takes roughly four weeks, which is industry standard for made to order pieces.
How to shop solid gold
To purchase a solid gold piece, simply select the box marked “14k Solid Gold” on the product page. Because Afterpay has a $1,000 limit, we have also begun offering Affirm’s ‘buy now pay later’ solution to make these solid investment pieces a little easier to own.
As always, thank you for supporting CE and continuing to make my dreams come true. I hope you love these solid gold pieces and will treasure them for generations.
Torie Tilley
CEO + Founder
