Choosing jewelry material is a fundamental decision that influences durability, aesthetics, comfort, and even your skin health. Between gold, silver, gold plating, and stainless steel, how do you identify the material that suits your needs and lifestyle? At AEREA, a design studio specializing in creating contemporary jewelry, we favor quality materials that combine aesthetics, durability, and ethics. This guide helps you understand different jewelry materials and make an informed choice.
Understanding Jewelry Materials
Precious Metals vs Common Metals
Precious metals – gold, silver, platinum – preserve their value over time and naturally resist oxidation. They're durable investments that span generations.
Common metals – copper, brass, stainless steel – are more financially accessible but can oxidize or provoke allergic reactions depending on their composition and treatment.
Between the two, gold plating offers an interesting compromise: gold aesthetics at a more accessible price, with durability that essentially depends on plating thickness.
The Importance of Material Quality
Quality jewelry begins with quality material. The same metal can vary considerably in purity, finish, and longevity depending on its origin and treatment.
At AEREA, we use exclusively RJC-certified recycled silver and brass from responsible sources. This traceability guarantees not only metallurgical quality, but also absence of human or environmental exploitation in the production chain.
Silver: The Timeless Classic
925 Sterling Silver
925 silver (also called sterling silver) contains 92.5% pure silver and 7.5% other metals (generally copper) to increase its resistance. It's the international standard for silver jewelry.
Advantages:
- Durable jewelry that spans decades
- Hypoallergenic jewelry – rarely responsible for skin reactions
- Elegant and timeless aesthetics
- Accessible price compared to gold
- Can be polished and restored indefinitely
Characteristics to know:
- Silver naturally tarnishes upon contact with air (jewelry oxidation)
- This oxidation isn't a defect but a natural process
- Simple polishing with a soft cloth restores luster
Silver jewelry care: Clean regularly with a soft cloth specifically for silver. For deeper cleaning, use warm soapy water and soft brush. Dry immediately. Store in a dry place, ideally in an anti-tarnish pouch.
For whom?: Silver suits everyone, particularly those seeking quality jewelry at affordable price, who appreciate luminous silver aesthetics, or who have sensitive skin.
Recycled Silver: The Eco-Responsible Option
RJC-certified recycled silver comes from old jewelry, electronic components, or industrial waste remelted and purified. It's metallurgically identical to newly extracted silver, but its environmental impact is infinitely less.
Silver mining extraction requires massive quantities of water, generates toxic waste, and destroys entire ecosystems. By choosing recycled silver jewelry, you avoid contributing to this destruction while obtaining exactly the same quality.
All AEREA silver jewelry uses exclusively certified recycled silver. It's durable jewelry in the most complete sense: durable over time and durable in its impact.
Gold: The Noble Metal
Solid Gold – Carats and Alloys
Pure gold (24 carats) is too soft for daily jewelry. It's therefore alloyed with other metals to increase its resistance:
18-carat gold (750/1000): 75% pure gold, 25% alloys. It's the European high-end standard. Resistant enough for daily use, rich enough in gold to preserve its luster and value.
14-carat gold (585/1000): 58.5% pure gold. More resistant than 18 carats, more accessible price, but less gold-rich.
9-carat gold (375/1000): 37.5% pure gold. The legal minimum to be called "gold" in many countries. More affordable but contains more alloy metals that can provoke allergic reactions.
Gold colors:
- Yellow gold: Alloy with copper and silver
- White gold: Alloy with palladium and silver, often rhodium-plated
- Rose gold: Alloy with high proportion of copper
Advantages:
- Jewelry that doesn't tarnish and doesn't oxidize
- Preserved intrinsic value
- Jewelry resistant to daily use
- Prestige and luxurious aesthetics
Disadvantage: High price, particularly for 18-carat gold.
For whom?: Those seeking durable investment, who want resistant jewelry requiring little maintenance, or who prioritize resale value.
Gold Plating: Accessible Aesthetics
How Does Plating Work?
Gold plating consists of depositing a thin layer of genuine gold on a base metal (generally brass or silver) by electrolysis. This layer's thickness directly determines the jewelry's durability.
Plating standards:
- Standard plating: 0.5 micron – degrades in a few months with daily wear
- Thick plating: 2.5-3 microns – lasts several years with appropriate care
- Vermeil: Gold on 925 silver with minimum 2.5 microns thickness
At AEREA, our gold-plated jewelry uses 2.5 to 3 micron plating – six times thicker than the industry standard. This thickness guarantees exceptional durability comparable to solid gold for daily use.
Advantages:
- Gold aesthetics at accessible price
- Quality jewelry with thick plating lasts years
- Versatility – all designs possible
- Resistant jewelry if quality plating
Care: Avoid contact with water, perfumes, lotions. Clean with soft cloth. Remove before sleeping, exercising, or showering. With these precautions, quality gold plating preserves its luster for years.
For whom?: Those who love gold aesthetics but prefer more accessible price, who want to build a varied collection, or who appreciate regularly renewing their jewelry.
Stainless Steel: Modern Robustness
316L Steel Characteristics
316L stainless steel (also called surgical steel) is the most used alloy in contemporary jewelry. It contains chromium, nickel, and molybdenum that make it extremely resistant.
Advantages:
- Extremely resistant jewelry – scratches, shocks, deformations
- Jewelry that doesn't tarnish, doesn't oxidize
- Resists water, perspiration, chemicals
- Very accessible price
- Minimal maintenance
Major disadvantage: Contains nickel, principal jewelry allergen. Despite "surgical steel" appellation, it can provoke reactions in nickel-sensitive people.
For whom?: Active people seeking ultra-resistant jewelry requiring no maintenance, men preferring steel's masculine aesthetics, people with limited budget. Not recommended for people with nickel allergy.
Brass: The Versatile Base
Brass is a copper and zinc alloy, often used as base for gold or silver plating.
Raw brass: Warm golden aesthetics that naturally oxidizes toward more coppery tones. This patina can be appreciated (vintage aesthetics) or avoided by regular maintenance.
Plated brass: Brass serves as stable base to receive gold or silver plating. It's the privileged method for creating accessible jewelry with precious metal aesthetics.
Important: Brass contains copper that can provoke skin reactions in certain people (green skin coloration, irritation). Quality plating eliminates this direct contact.
Hypoallergenic Jewelry: Health Priority
What is Hypoallergenic Jewelry?
Hypoallergenic jewelry minimizes skin allergic reaction risk. This doesn't mean "zero risk" – any person can be allergic to any substance – but that the used material rarely provokes reactions.
Most hypoallergenic materials:
- Titanium: Extremely rare in allergy, ultra-light, very resistant
- Niobium: Similar to titanium, used in medical body piercing
- 925 silver: Rarely allergenic, except if heavily alloyed
- 18-carat gold: High gold content limits allergenic metals
- Platinum: Practically never allergenic, but very costly
Materials to avoid with sensitive skin:
- Nickel (present in stainless steel, certain white golds)
- Direct contact copper (in unplated brass)
- Low carat gold (9 or 10K) with high proportion of alloys
The Most Frequent Jewelry Allergy: Nickel
Nickel is responsible for 80% of jewelry allergies. The reaction manifests as redness, itching, vesicles, or crusts at contact point.
This allergy can develop gradually – you wear jewelry for years without problem, then suddenly your skin reacts. Once developed, nickel allergy is permanent.
European regulation: The EU strictly limits nickel release in jewelry with prolonged skin contact (maximum 0.5 μg/cm²/week). AEREA jewelry largely respects these standards.
Resistant Jewelry: Longevity and Use
Ranking by Daily Use Resistance
Very resistant (intensive daily wear):
- Platinum
- Stainless steel
- Titanium
- 18-carat gold
Resistant (daily wear with precautions):
- 925 silver
- 14-carat gold
- Thick gold plating (>2.5 microns)
Moderately resistant (occasional wear):
- Standard gold plating (<1 micron)
- Untreated brass
- 9-carat gold (more alloys = more fragile paradoxically)
Factors That Degrade Jewelry
Water: Particularly problematic for gold plating and brass. Water accelerates oxidation and progressively degrades plating.
Chemicals: Perfumes, lotions, pool chlorine, cleaning products – all attack finishes and can tarnish or corrode metals.
Friction: Jewelry rubs against clothing, other jewelry, daily objects. This friction progressively wears the surface.
Perspiration: Sweat acidity accelerates oxidation, particularly on silver and brass.
Mechanical shocks: Deform soft metals (pure gold, silver), can break settings.
Care According to Material
Silver
Daily: Wipe with soft cloth after each wear. Regular: Polishing with special silver cloth. Deep: Warm soapy water + soft brush, dry well. Storage: Anti-tarnish pouch, dry environment.
Gold Plating
Daily: Remove before water contact. Regular: Dry soft cloth only – never abrasive products. To avoid: Perfume, lotion, sports, sleeping with jewelry. Storage: Individual pouch to avoid scratches.
Solid Gold
Daily: Gold requires little maintenance. Regular: Warm soapy water + soft brush if dirt accumulation. Deep: Annual professional cleaning to restore luster. Storage: No particular precaution necessary.
Stainless Steel
Daily: No maintenance necessary. Cleaning: Water + soap if desired, steel resists everything. Storage: No precaution necessary.
The AEREA Philosophy
At AEREA, we select each material according to three non-negotiable criteria: quality, durability, and ethics.
Our silver jewelry uses exclusively RJC-certified recycled silver – same metallurgical quality as virgin silver, minimal environmental impact. Our gold plating benefits from plating six times thicker than the industry standard, guaranteeing exceptional durability.
We don't seek to imitate gold with cheap materials that degrade rapidly. We create contemporary jewelry designed to span decades, carrying our aesthetic signature while respecting the highest quality material standards.
Choosing AEREA jewelry means choosing transparency: we clearly indicate each piece's composition, plating thickness, material origin. It's understanding that quality jewelry begins with quality material.
Whether you opt for recycled silver for its hypoallergenic qualities and timeless luster, or for our ultra-thick gold plating for golden aesthetics at accessible price, you invest in durable jewelry designed to accompany your daily life for years.
