I hear about all sorts of genres of metal, and don't particularly feel like looking them up on wikipedia. Can you give me general characteristics/definitons about, but not limited to:Black MetalDeath MetalExtreme MetalPower Metaland could you also give me some really good examples of each? Thanks!Also, any other genres of metal you feel like defining would be much appreciated. Thanks again!
All cheaper, non-precious metals are called 'base metal'. That includes copper, brass, bronze, pewter, iron, tin, zinc and so on. Precious metal are gold, silver, platinum, palladium, rhodium and a few others. Metals are 'precious' because they are rare (expensive), beautiful etc. A lot of base metal is very beautiful on it's own (I love solid copper and brass/bronze jewelry), but most commercially available base metal jewelry is plated (with gold or rhodium/silver) to look like precious metal. That's where the problems start. The plating wears off after a short while and the base metal starts being visible. If it is pinkish, it is copper. So, as far as I am concerned, you are fine if you buy solid base metal. That way, the base metal is polished and sealed (check out the link below for some shiny copper earrings) and you can clean it to a bright color. It's the plated metal, I would stay away from, especially for a ring.
