The short story: We have chosen to exclusively produce our jewelry in solid 9 karat and 14 karat yellow gold due to the benefits of wearability, durability, and longevity (and in the case of 9k —affordability). Our metal is 100% recycled and nickel-free. Read on to nerd out a little and learn the nitty-gritty…

Solid Karat Gold

Solid gold means the material is consistent throughout the piece – it's the same on the inside as it is on the outside. Pure solid gold is called 24 karat or 24k. In other words, if you break the pure gold ”recipe” out into 24 parts (karats), all the parts are gold. 24k is very expensive, soft, and malleable, but can be mixed with other metals to make it more affordable, stronger, and durable. This lightens the deep yellow color of pure gold and can also create other tones such as rose and white, depending on the other metals in the mix. For alloys (a mixture of two or more metals), the gold content is expressed by the number of gold parts (karats), or the percentage of gold used in the mix. So, 9k means 9 of the alloy’s 24 parts are pure gold, or 37.5% gold (9 divided by 24). 14k means 14 of the 24 parts are pure gold. You can verify quality by finding a ”9k” or ”375” stamp on your jewelry (or a stamp using the same logic for other karats). While 9k gold is not as commonly found in the US market, it is very popular for fine jewelry in other parts of the world such as Europe and Australia.  Since the gold content is lower than 14k and 10k, it is less expensive and actually a little more scratch resistant, making it perfect for daily wear and activity. Solid gold of any karatage is far more durable and valuable than gold-plated and vermeil jewelry, which has a limited shelf life.

Gold-Plated & Vermeil

Gold-plated jewelry is made by applying a very thin layer of gold to the surface of a base metal or sterling silver using an electrically charged bath of gold suspended in chemicals (to put it simply). If the plated layer of gold on sterling silver is at least 2.5 microns thick, it is often referred to as vermeil. Due to the nature of this composition, gold-plated and vermeil jewelry is susceptible to oxidation, discoloration, scratches, flaking, abrasion, and corrosion. If kept away from moisture, gold-plated jewelry has an average lifespan of up to a year; vermeil has an average lifespan of up to 3 years (it can be replated, but this can be costly). It is likely that most gold-plated jewelry will eventually end up being discarded, which is extremely wasteful. And the possibility of chemical exposure or leaching at any point of the plated product life cycle is not ideal for people or the planet. We’ll stick with solid gold over here.

White Gold

White gold alloys naturally have a grey-yellow tinge due to the gold content, and usually contain nickel (not the best choice for those with metal sensitivities). The jewelry industry standard is to plate white gold with rhodium to give it a bright white color and temporarily shield the wearer from the nickel content (until the rhodium eventually wears off and the piece needs to be replated).  Since we don’t use plating and we don’t want anyone to have an allergic reaction to our pieces, we only produce in yellow gold.