Jewelry listings use gold words loosely. "Gold", "gold tone", "gold plated", "gold filled", "vermeil" and "solid gold" describe wildly different objects at wildly different prices, and the vagueness is rarely accidental. This is a plain explanation of the terms, and a direct statement of what our pieces are.
The terms, from least to most gold
Gold tone / gold finish. No gold at all. A coloured coating on a base metal. It will change colour, usually within weeks.
Gold plated. A real but thin layer of gold bonded to a base metal underneath. The two things that matter are the karat of the gold and what sits beneath it — and that second part is where most listings go quiet. Plating over brass or zinc is cheap and is what causes green skin and rashes. Plating over sterling silver is a different product entirely.
Gold vermeil. A legal term in the U.S.: gold plating of at least 10K and 2.5 microns thick, over sterling silver specifically. A regulated subset of gold plating.
Gold filled. A thick, mechanically bonded layer — at least 5% of the item's weight. Durable and considerably more expensive.
Solid gold. Gold alloy throughout, sold by karat: 9K, 14K, 18K. The price is a different order of magnitude.
What our pieces are
Every piece we sell starts as 925 sterling silver — 92.5% silver, the rest alloy for strength. That is the body of the jewelry, not a coating.
From there you choose a finish:
925 Sterling Silver — the silver itself, polished, no plating.
18K Gold Plated — 18 karat gold plating applied over that sterling silver base.
18K Rose Gold Plated — the same, in a rose tone.
We do not sell solid gold, and we do not describe our pieces as solid gold. The gold is a plating. What makes it worth having is what sits underneath it: sterling silver rather than brass. When the plating eventually wears at the high-contact points, what shows through is silver — not a yellow base metal, and nothing that will mark your skin.
Which finish to choose
This is mostly about skin tone and what the person already owns. Gold flatters warm complexions; silver suits cooler ones; rose gold sits between and tends to work on both. But the stronger rule is to match the jewelry they already wear every day — most people have settled on one metal without thinking about it, and a gift in the other one gets worn twice.
If you genuinely cannot tell, sterling silver is the safest choice. It is also the one that needs no thought about plating wear.
How long plating lasts
Honestly: it depends almost entirely on how it is treated. 18K plating on sterling silver stands up well to ordinary daily wear. What shortens it is chemistry and friction — perfume, hairspray, lotion, chlorine, cleaning products, and rubbing against clothing or other jewelry.
Four habits cover most of it:
Put the necklace on last, after perfume and lotion have dried. Take it off before showering, swimming or exercising. Store it dry and separately, in the pouch it arrived in, rather than loose in a dish where pieces rub. Wipe plated pieces with a soft dry cloth rather than polishing them hard — polishing compounds are abrasive and remove plating.
Sterling silver behaves differently: it tarnishes, darkening gradually through contact with air and sulphur. That is normal and reversible — a silver polishing cloth brings it back. Do not use a polishing cloth on plated pieces.
Sensitive skin
Most metal reactions are to nickel, which is common in cheap base-metal alloys. Sterling silver is nickel-free, so a sterling base is the right starting point if you react to costume jewelry. If you react even to plated pieces over silver, choose the plain sterling silver finish, where no plating is involved at all.
Why we are specific about this
Because the category is full of listings that imply solid gold at plated prices, and buyers find out later. Being precise costs us a few sales to people who wanted solid gold, and saves everyone the version of that conversation that happens after the parcel arrives.
Every piece is made to order and leaves New York in 1–3 business days, with free standard U.S. shipping. Browse Personalized Jewelry, Tree of Life Jewelry or the full range.