Brass and alloys, or sterling silver 925?

The metals used as the foundation of an accessory fall broadly into two groups: common non-precious metals such as brass and zinc alloys, and precious metals such as sterling silver 925. Silver is a precious metal traded on international markets, and its raw price differs greatly from that of brass. The same design, made in sterling silver, can cost several times more in material alone.

Even more important than price is how the metal relates to your skin. Sterling silver 925 is known as a metal unlikely to cause allergic reactions, while inexpensive alloys can contain nickel and other common allergens. One reason low-priced accessories are covered in thick coatings and plating is precisely to keep the base metal away from the skin — which is why skin trouble so often appears once the plating wears off.

There is one more material worth understanding: surgical stainless steel. It resists tarnish, rarely causes allergies, and is without question an excellent industrial material. But it is not a precious metal, and as a raw material, its price is on an entirely different order from silver. Despite this, in recent years stainless steel accessories have increasingly been sold at prices comparable to precious-metal jewellery. Choosing a piece for its design or its brand is a perfectly lovely thing to do. But how much of that price is actually the material? Knowing the answer before you choose — or not knowing it at all — makes all the difference.

Thickness and what lies beneath decide a plating's life

One of the factors that determines how long a plated accessory lasts is the thickness of its coating. The flash plating common in fast-fashion accessories is less than 0.5 microns — an extremely thin layer that can fade within weeks or months. For reference, the U.S. FTC standard for gold vermeil requires a gold layer of at least 2.5 microns. In the industry, this severalfold difference in thickness is treated as the difference in how long the shine will last.

And there is a second factor, just as important as thickness: what lies beneath the plating. On brass, once the plating wears through, that is the end. But rhodium, 18K gold, or 14K white gold plating applied over sterling silver 925 is different — even if the coating thins after years of wear, what lies beneath is still a precious metal. Two pieces may both be called "plated," yet structurally they are entirely different things.

Rhodium deserves special mention. It is a rare metal of the platinum group, at times trading at prices above gold itself. Hard, highly resistant to tarnish, and able to preserve silver's brilliance for years — it is the very opposite of the "plating = cheap" image. If anything, it is a luxurious coating.

Price lives in the places photographs don't show

The final differences hide in the parts you can barely see in product photos. First, the stone setting. What matters is not so much which method is used, but whether the right method for the stone has been applied with care. Faceted stones call for mechanical settings such as prongs or bezels; pearls and flat-backed stones are properly secured with jewellery-grade adhesive — in fact, adhesive setting is the standard for pearls even in the world's high jewellery. Problems arise not from the method itself, but from careless work done to cut costs. Does the stone sit firm, without wobbling? Is there no excess glue showing? That is where a maker's care reveals itself.

For earrings, the material of the post — the part that passes through your ear — is critical. It is not uncommon for the visible body to be beautiful while the post alone is cheap alloy. The part that touches your skin most intimately is exactly where you should check the material disclosure. For necklaces, chain quality also shapes the price: the make of the clasp, the uniformity of the links, the resistance to breaking. Whether a seller discloses the chain's material and origin — as with Italian-made sterling silver chains — is another useful measure of a maker's honesty.