Our Materials

Gold vermeil is solid sterling silver covered in a thick layer of real gold. To be sold as vermeil in the United States it has to be at least 10 karat gold, at least 2.5 microns thick, over a sterling silver base. Ours is 18 karat, at a minimum of 2.5 microns, over solid 925 sterling. That makes it genuine precious metal all the way through, not a coating over something cheap.

Gemiria makes jewelry in four finishes, and they are not the same kind of thing underneath. Three of them start with surgical grade stainless steel. The fourth is vermeil. We sell both, which means we have no reason to talk one of them up at the other's expense, and this page is the honest comparison rather than the sales pitch.

The four finishes, side by side

Is gold vermeil real gold?

Yes, and the standard is written down. In the United States the Federal Trade Commission defines vermeil in 16 CFR 23.4: a base of sterling silver, coated with gold of at least 10 karat, at a minimum thickness of 2.5 microns. Anything thinner or on a base metal other than sterling cannot legally be called vermeil.

Ours goes past the floor on the karat and meets it on the thickness: 18 karat gold, minimum 2.5 microns, over solid 925 sterling silver. So a vermeil piece is precious metal from the outside in. You can feel it, and that is the honest reason people buy it. It weighs more in the hand than the same shape in steel, because silver is denser than steel and there is nothing hollow about it.

Gold vermeil vs gold plated: what actually differs

Two things, and only one of them is the one people expect.

The base is different. Gold plated means a thin layer of gold over some other metal. That other metal is the whole story. Cheap gold plated jewelry is gold over brass or copper, which is why it turns skin green and why it stops looking like gold after a season. Our plated finishes are gold over 304 surgical grade stainless steel, which is the same family of steel used for surgical instruments and body jewelry. Vermeil is gold over solid sterling silver.

The bond is different. Our plated finishes use PVD, physical vapour deposition, which fuses the gold to the steel in a vacuum chamber rather than dipping it in a bath. A PVD finish is roughly five times more durable than standard electroplating. That is why we can put a 10 year warranty on it and tell you to swim in it.

Here is the part most brands will not say out loud: for everyday wear, our plated pieces are the tougher option, not the lesser one. Vermeil is more precious and it is heavier and it is the one you buy for a birth or a wedding or a first Mother's Day. But 2.5 microns of gold over soft silver will not survive a summer of sea water the way surgical steel will. Preciousness and durability are two different promises and we are not going to pretend one piece delivers both.

Gold vermeil vs gold filled

Gold filled sits between plated and solid gold. It is made by mechanically bonding a layer of gold to a base metal, usually brass, under heat and pressure, and in the US it must be at least 1/20th gold by weight, which is 5%. That is far more gold than ordinary plating.

The real difference from vermeil is what is underneath. Gold filled is usually gold over brass. Vermeil is gold over sterling silver. Gold filled typically has more gold by weight; vermeil has a precious metal core and no brass anywhere near your skin. If you react to costume jewelry, that distinction matters more than the gold does.

We do not make gold filled pieces. We chose surgical steel for durability and sterling for preciousness, and gold filled would have sat awkwardly between the two without beating either.

Does gold vermeil tarnish? How long does it last?

The gold itself does not tarnish. Gold does not react with air, which is the whole reason humans have used it for six thousand years. What can tarnish is the sterling silver underneath, and it can only do that if it reaches the air, which means the gold layer has to wear through first.

So vermeil lasts as long as the gold layer lasts, and that depends almost entirely on how it is treated. Worn gently and kept away from the things below, a vermeil piece stays gold for years. Worn in a chlorinated pool, in the sea, or under perfume every day, it will wear at the points that rub, and the silver will start to show and darken.

Keep it away from these, and it will keep its colour:

• Swimming pools and the sea. Chlorine and salt are the fastest way to wear a gold layer.
• Perfume, hairspray and lotion. Put jewelry on last, after all of it has dried.
• Long soaks. A shower now and then is survivable; a bath every night is not.
• Ultrasonic cleaners and abrasive polish. Both take the gold off.

We cover vermeil for 2 years against premature tarnishing, discoloration and clasp or chain failure under normal wear. That is shorter than the 10 years on the plated finishes, and the difference is not an accident: it is us being straight about which material takes more care.

Does gold plated tarnish, or turn skin green?

Not ours, and the reason is chemistry rather than marketing.

Skin turns green because of copper. Copper reacts with sweat and skin oils to form copper salts, which are green, and most cheap gold plated jewelry is gold over brass, which is mostly copper. There is no brass and no copper in any Gemiria piece.

Green marks and skin reactions are also often blamed on nickel, which is the most common metal allergy in the world. There is no nickel in any Gemiria piece either. All four finishes are nickel free and lead free.

The plated three are 18K gold, rhodium or 18K rose gold PVD bonded to 304 surgical grade stainless steel. They are fully waterproof and tarnish resistant, and we cover them for 10 years against premature tarnishing, discoloration and chain or clasp breakage under normal wear. Shower in them, swim in them, sleep in them.

Is 18K gold plated good quality?

It depends completely on two things nobody puts on the label: what is underneath, and how the gold was applied.

"18K gold plated" on brass, dipped in an electroplating bath, is a piece with a short life. The same words on surgical stainless steel, PVD bonded, describe something you can wear every day for years. The phrase is identical. The object is not.

That is the reason this page exists, and it is the reason we spell out the base metal and the bonding method on every product page rather than hiding behind the karat number.

What is rhodium plating, and does it tarnish?

Rhodium is a member of the platinum family and it is rarer than gold. It is bright white, extremely hard, and it does not tarnish, which is exactly why fine jewelers plate white gold with it. Most white gold you have ever seen was rhodium plated; without it, white gold reads slightly yellow.

Our Silver finish is rhodium over surgical steel. It is the same finish jewelers put on white gold, and it will not tarnish and will not turn skin green. It is also why we do not sell plain 925 silver on its own.

Why we don't sell plain sterling silver

Sterling silver is beautiful, and left on its own it tarnishes, it scratches, and it will not survive one summer of sea water. So we use it in exactly one place: as the solid core of our vermeil, sealed under a layer of 18K gold thick enough that the silver never meets the air.

For everything else we start with surgical stainless steel and finish it in rhodium or real 18K gold. That is what lets you wear a Gemiria piece in the shower, at the beach and to sleep for years, and it is why we back the plated finishes for a decade.

How do I clean gold plated jewelry?

Gently, and rarely. Most damage to plated jewelry is done by cleaning it, not by wearing it.

1. Wipe it with a soft cloth after lotion or perfume. The microfiber cloth in your Gemiria box is for exactly this.
2. For a deeper clean, use mild soap and warm water, then pat it dry. Nothing else is needed.
3. Store pieces apart so they do not scratch each other. The box they arrived in is the right place.
4. Never use bleach, chlorine, abrasive cleaners, silver polish or an ultrasonic cleaner. Every one of those removes the finish you are trying to protect.

There is more detail, finish by finish, in our jewelry care guide.

Which finish should you choose?

A short version, because this is genuinely a simple decision once the materials are clear.

• Choose a plated finish if the piece is going to be worn every day and never taken off. It is waterproof, it is covered for 10 years, and it will look the same after a summer at the beach. This is most people, most of the time.
• Choose 18K Gold Vermeil if the piece is marking something. A birth, a wedding, a name that has just changed, a milestone that deserves real precious metal with real weight to it. Take it off to swim and it will keep its colour.

Every one of our pieces comes in all four, so the name and the script are never the thing you have to compromise on. Start with the name necklaces, or see the same name on a bracelet, a ring or a pair of earrings.

Everything, in one paragraph

Gemiria makes name jewelry in four finishes. Three are 304 surgical grade stainless steel finished in 18K gold, rhodium or 18K rose gold by PVD bonding: fully waterproof, hypoallergenic, nickel free, covered for 10 years. The fourth is 18K Gold Vermeil, which is solid 925 sterling silver under a minimum of 2.5 microns of real 18K gold, clearing the FTC's definition in 16 CFR 23.4: genuine precious metal, noticeably heavier, covered for 2 years, and to be taken off before swimming. No brass, no copper, no nickel, no lead in any of them. Every piece is made to order in 4 to 5 business days and ships free worldwide with all import duties covered.