Most jewellery brands select a single base metal and design everything around it. We work with three, and choose between them according to what each design requires. This is how that decision is made, and how to judge which is right for you.
Why the base metal matters
Gold plating is a fine layer of real gold bonded to a base metal beneath. The gold itself behaves the same way regardless of manufacturer. The base metal does not.
What lies underneath determines how warm the colour reads, how much fine detail a design can hold, what the piece costs, and how it behaves once the plating eventually thins. It is the most consequential decision in making a piece, and the one least often explained.
We work with three: 925 sterling silver, brass and 316L stainless steel.
Sterling silver — for our finer designs
Delicate work requires a base that holds precision at small scale. Fine studs, slim huggies and light chains all depend on it, and sterling silver performs this better than anything else we use.
It also means there is genuine value beneath the finish. A 925 sterling silver piece is a silver piece, whatever plating sits on top of it.
Sterling silver does oxidise gradually over time, developing a darker patina. This is a characteristic of the metal rather than a fault, and it is largely preventable: the pieces that darken quickly have almost always been exposed to water or chemicals. Our rhodium-plated silver resists oxidation for longer.
Explore our sterling silver collection
Brass — for our bolder designs
Chunky hoops, domes and sculptural forms. Brass is the traditional base for fine plated jewellery and remains the best choice for substantial pieces, for three reasons.
It carries the richest colour. Brass is naturally warm in tone, so gold plating over brass reads as genuinely golden rather than merely gold-coloured. The difference against a cooler base metal is visible. It lends warmth to silver finishes as well.
It holds detail. Harder metals flatten texture and depth. Brass accepts fine surface work and retains it, which matters a great deal on a sculptural piece where the form is the point.
It makes substantial pieces attainable. A large chunky hoop uses a considerable volume of metal, and the same design in sterling silver would cost several times more purely on material. This is not a lesser version of a silver piece at a lower price. It is a design that called for a different metal, and that metal happens to give the better colour.
On brass and its reputation
Brass is often blamed for discolouration on the skin. The cause is not brass but insufficient plating.
When a gold layer is applied too thinly to reduce cost, it wears through within weeks and the base metal is left in direct contact with skin. This occurs with any base metal; brass simply shows it most visibly, as copper reacts readily with skin.
Well-plated brass, properly cared for, holds its finish for a very long time. Poorly plated jewellery of any composition does not. The base metal tells you how a piece will behave once the plating is gone; it does not tell you how long the plating will last.
316L stainless steel — for our waterproof pieces
The most resilient base we work with, and the one we use throughout our waterproof range. It has extremely low nickel release, which also makes it well suited to sensitive ears.
Stainless steel is widely used across the industry at present, and its durability is genuine. It does not, however, carry gold and silver tone in the way sterling silver and brass do; the colour is flatter and cooler. That is the trade, and it is why we reserve steel for pieces intended to be worn in water rather than for pieces intended to be the most beautiful thing you own.
What waterproof means
The term is worth defining precisely, as it is often used loosely.
Waterproof describes the base metal, not the finish. Stainless steel will not rust or corrode in water, which is why a steel piece withstands the pool and the ocean where brass would not. That much is accurate.
A gold-toned steel piece, however, still carries a gold finish, and that finish remains a coating. It can still dull, and with sufficient wear it can still thin. Waterproof means water will not damage the piece. It does not mean the colour is permanent, and no gold finish on any base metal is.
Everyday wear and wet wear are different questions
These two are frequently conflated, and it leads many people toward steel when they have no need of it.
Earrings put on each morning and removed at night make almost no contact with anything — no rubbing against sleeves, no knocking against surfaces, little exposure to hand cream. Plated silver and brass handle daily wear very well.
It is water, rather than frequency, that shortens the life of a plated finish. Wearing a piece every day is not the difficulty. Wearing it in the shower every day is.
Choosing between them
There is no single superior base metal, only the one best suited to a particular piece and to how you will wear it.
- For the warmest gold tone, or for a substantial statement piece — brass.
- For fine, delicate detail such as small studs, dainty huggies and light chains — sterling silver.
- For swimming, or for wearing in the shower — 316L stainless steel.
- For sensitive ears — sterling silver is well tolerated, and our 316L has extremely low nickel release.
For a fuller account of how plating wears and what can be done when a piece dulls, see our answer to whether gold-plated jewellery tarnishes.
If you are uncertain which is right for you, please get in touch. We would rather help you choose well than sell you the wrong piece.