Once upon a time, only the rich and royal could afford to wear gold and diamond jewelry, giving a precious jewelry to your love symbolise this meaningful moment that you can carry and carries with you everyday for a long time ,throughout the history and until our days people puts a fortune on precious jewelry What made the gold and diamond jewelry officially the symbol of wealth and money ..in the last 10 years and with today's technology, we can now create plated gold jewelry for everyone to enjoy. Fashion jewelry is created with affordable materials and looks stunning. Many people store their diamonds and gold in the safe and wear fashion jewelry to functions and events; mainly because they are trendy, cool and larger compared to the real thing. Even Mrs. Obama has been seen wearing fashion jewelry from time to time!
Whether you design jewelry for yourself or for others to enjoy, there are some important things you need to know about plated jewelry. Plated jewelry has many advantages, such as its affordable price, good quality and great looking finish. You can create small and large pieces with it, but you must remember that With fashion jewelry, even one year is a long time, as styles, trends and fashion are constantly changing.
In any case, plated jewelry is not meant to be passed down through the generation like the real gold jewelry would.
Goldfield jewelry
There is a lot of confusion around Goldfield jewelry, so what is Goldfieled exactly?
One of the popular categories in this field is Goldfield jewelry, composed of a solid layer of 9-14 karat gold (thicker than plated jewelry), which constitutes at least 5% of the item's total weight.
We find the Goldfield jewelry to be a bit more expansive and harder to work with, but this is not the main star of this article.
When speaking of fashion jewelry we may see different shades of plating colors available which is hard to get when working with real gold or goldfield.
Fashion jewelry
Another option for creating fashion jewelry is working with gold plated components which are made from different metal bases, such as brass, copper or zamak with a Micron thickness layer of plating. When working with plated components you need to use different techniques for connecting the elements. You can create endless pieces of jewelry using metal wire, jump rings, leather cords, strings, loops, glue and more.
Plated components are wonderful products to work with! Here at GITA jewelry, for example, we have 17 different colors of plating to choose from, and so your jewelry designs can have a much wider range of finishes and looks!
To read more about the differences between types of plating click here.
This metal plating technique has enabled designers to create beautiful items, at affordable prices for everyone to enjoy, combining all those pluses is the reason why in the last 10 years there was a growing number of handmade fashion jewelers selling their pieces all across the world online and in small boutiques.
You do need to make sure you don't purchase cheap knock-offs that are too thin that don't last longer than a few weeks. They may look the same, but are not the same quality. Once you know where to buy high-quality plated jewelry, and avoid cheap knockoffs, you will also need to know how to take care of your plated jewelry.
Storing plated jewelry
Avoid storing your jewelry in moist environments, like your bathroom. It is best to store them in dry and shady places like a drawer, or a jewelry box where they are not exposed to the open air or moisture as these can cause the jewelry to change color (oxidation), darken or fade out. Storing them correctly will lengthen their life span and assure your jewelry lasts longer. It is also important to keep them separate from each other, to avoid any scratching or tangling.
Wearing plated jewelry
If you intend on wearing a gold plated ring without removing it, it is best to buy a really good plated ring so that it does not fade, as plating finishes may wear off by direct contact with the skin for a prolonged time. It is also best not to shower with plated rings and to make sure you buy the best quality available, in this category. With earrings and necklaces, the plating wears off after a much longer time.
Keep in mind that designs created with gold plated metals require maintenance to keep them looking as good as new. A simple wipe down and avoiding contact with water and creams is more than enough.
Cleaning plated jewelry
Plated jewelry is easy to clean, just rinse them in cool, lukewarm water and don't forget to dry them off when you are done. The shine may wear off after a while, if this happens, simply rub the jewelry with the tips of your fingers that are usually naturally oily, and shine them up. You can also use cotton wipes to make them shine brightly again.
Shiny silver plated jewelry can lose their bright white color and turn a little yellow in time, this is the nature of the silver metal simply by being influenced from oxygen.
A few tips for cleaning:
1. The right and simple way to deal with that, is use a cleaning product for silver. Here is one example for a cream that you apply with a cotton fabric and gently go over the surface of the element until it is shiny and clean again.
2. Cleaning product dose helps keep the nice silver color for a few more months, but it will not be as strong and durable as before.
3. To reacive a small sample of this cleaning cream for silver, please write to use a comment in your next order, and we will send you one - free of charge!
4. Another option is to use the nickel metal plating which has a slightly grayer metallic color, but its shine and color will stay for a much longer time.
Use the correct equipment
Only use designated high-quality equipment for jewelry making. This will help to avoid unnecessary scratches and marks and will assure your safety when working. Also, try and use the correct techniques for each material, you can read more about the different methods here. It is also important you use the right glue when working with plated gold, and work in a clean and precise manner, so you don't damage the coating.
Allergies
Many people have Nickel sensitivity, so try to avoid using products with nickel. This means that the plating is placed on top of copper or silver material and does not contain nickel. Women, who are allergic to nickel, will be able to wear the Nickel free plated items.
You can see our nickel free platings here.
Working with plated metal components enables you to work faster, offers beautiful designs at a much lower cost and opens up a wonderful new world of possibilities and designs to work with!
We hope this article helped you better understand platings in the fashion jewelry world.
Click here to see our sample pack of whole platings colors sample palette, it can be interesting for you.
Keep creating!
GITA team.