Gold-plated jewelry is not waterproof, and silver-plated jewelry can tarnish. Plating is a thin layer of gold, silver or palladium bonded over a base metal, copper or brass in our case, and that layer wears with friction, moisture and chemicals. It is a good, honest material at its price when it is kept dry and put on last. Here is what that means in practice.
A bathroom shelf, morning. A pair of earrings on the edge of the sink, the tap running beside them. This is where most plating goes: not in one accident, but in small daily wettings, soap, a towel dragged across.
What is gold-plated jewelry?
Gold-plated jewelry is a base metal, usually copper or brass, with a thin layer of gold bonded to its surface. The karat number, 18K on our pieces, describes the purity of that gold layer, not its thickness. Ours is 18K gold-plated copper or brass, as on the Olive Kelp Leaf Earrings and the band of the Pearl Flower Ring. It is not solid gold and not gold-filled, and we do not use those words because they would not be true.
Is gold plated jewelry waterproof?
No. Gold-plated jewelry is not waterproof, and it is not meant for the shower, the pool or the sea. Water alone is mild, but water arrives with soap, chlorine, salt and the rub of a towel, and each of those wears the gold layer thinner. Sweat is slightly acidic and does the same over a summer. The habit that saves plating is simple: jewelry goes on last, after lotion, perfume and hairspray have dried, and comes off before water. A pair of studs worn this way keeps its color far longer than a pair worn into the shower every day.
Does silver plated jewelry tarnish?
Yes, silver plate can darken. Silver reacts with sulfur in the air, in wool, in rubber and in some skin chemistry, and it darkens first where it touches you most. A plated piece has less silver to lose than sterling, so the answer is not to polish it hard. Wipe it with a soft, dry cloth after wearing, store it in its box with the lid closed, and keep it away from rubber bands and damp bathrooms. Do not use silver dips or polishing creams on plated wire; they can take the plate off along with the tarnish. Our silver-plated pieces, from the Ruffle Collar Necklace to the Silver Blossom Studs, are silver-plated copper or brass; some use palladium-plated fittings, and palladium as a metal is less prone to darkening than silver.
What about colored copper wire?
Several pieces, such as the Olive Calla Brooch and the Indigo Fan Earrings, use colored copper wire rather than plating. The color sits at the surface of the wire and can dull with rubbing and solvents, so the same rules apply: on last, off before water, a dry cloth only.
Is gold plated jewelry worth it?
Gold-plated jewelry is worth it when what you are paying for is the design and the work rather than the metal, and when you treat it accordingly. Solid gold earrings the size of our Golden Leaf Earrings, 4.2 × 5.8 cm of shaped wire, would cost many times more and weigh more on the ear. Plating lets a large, light, hand-shaped piece exist at a price that makes sense for a flower brooch or a pair of leaf drops. The trade is care: it is jewelry for days and evenings, not for the pool. If you want a piece to wear in the water and never think about, plated wire is the wrong material, and we would rather say so here than after you buy.
How do you care for plated jewelry day to day?
- Put it on last, after lotion, perfume and hairspray have dried.
- Take it off to shower, swim, sleep and exercise.
- Wipe with a soft, dry cloth after wearing. No polish, dips or ultrasonic cleaners.
- Store each piece flat in its box, apart from other jewelry, so nothing rubs.
- Expect the highest-wear points, the inside of a ring band or the back of a post, to show wear first; that is how plating behaves.
The materials glossary lists which pieces are gold-plated, silver-plated, palladium-plated or colored wire, and the care page covers pearls, stones and shell as well.
The earrings go back in the box before the tap is turned on. That is most of it.