My precious metals come from fair, ethical sources practicing environmentally responsible alloying and refining techniques. I am are constantly working with new and exciting alloys, and altering techniques to be an industry leader in earth friendly jewelry manufacturing, as well as an expert in working any precious metal.

I use 18k and higher karat gold, palladium 950 and platinum alloys, in the gold, palladium and platinum collection. The only time I deviate from this is in the mokume gane collection, where color is extremely important. 18k and higher materials have long been the choice of educated, discerning customers who want to purchase the best in precious metals. I've carefully selected every alloy or pure metal to be appropriate to the task it is performing. I'd never sell an item that was not made out of materials able to last for generations. In addition, Chris Ploof Studio is committed to fair and ethical trade, as well as earth-friendly practices in its own studio, and never uses nickel alloyed white golds. This prevents any potential for allergic reaction, and also eliminates the need for rhodium plating.

A partial list of metals used in all phases of my jewelry making:

• Fine (Pure) Silver Very soft, the whitest of the white metals
• Sterling Silver Fine silver with 7.5% copper added for increased strength and durability
• Platinum Enhanced Silver Silver combined with platinum for bright white color and extended durability
• Argentium Silver A malleable, heat-treatable version of silver
• Fine (Pure/24k) Gold Pure gold - incredibly soft, but with an extremely beautiful color
• 22k Yellow Gold A soft gold (but nearly twice as hard as pure gold) with nearly the same beautiful color as pure gold
• 22k Green Gold A soft, ductile gold, with a pale green color
• 18k Yellow Gold A beautiful yellow gold alloy our rings lined with yellow gold feature this material
• 18k Green Gold The "greenest" of the "green" golds
• 18k Palladium White Nickel free, beautiful nearly pale gray gold - our rings lined with white gold feature this material
• 18k Red Gold Beautiful red color, deeper than rose gold - our rings lined with white gold feature this material
• 14K Palladium White Gold A wonderful, gray color - complimentary to our red and yellow golds, we use this material exclusively in our mokume gane billets
• 14k Red Gold The richest red color, used exclusively in our mokume gane billets
• Palladium 950 A bright white metal that does not require any special care, it has a look similar to platinum
• Platinum Irridium (10%) An alloy of platinum and iridium - incredible white metal that is beautiful, strong and heavy