Your jewelry tastes are personal, but wearing a least a couple pieces of quality metal jewelry will generally elevate your appearance, whether the metal is gold, silver, or platinum and similar metals.
My general stance is to prioritize quality over quantity, but with jewelry you also don’t have purchase anything extremely expensive; you can find quality pieces for $100-$300. If you’re on a budget, save for a single item and wear it all the time. Having a signature piece of jewelry can be very chic.
I’ll discuss the three most common metals used in high end jewelry: gold, silver, and platinum (also known as noble metals). I’ll also briefly discuss a couple of other popular jewelry metals: titanium and tungsten carbide.
Gold jewelry
Gold is classic look, and it doesn’t tarnish or cause allergic reactions. It’s pretty soft in a solid form, though, so most gold jewelry is actually a mix of gold + other metals to make an alloy that makes the material harder so you can’t dent the jewelry easily. The alloys can be a lot of different metals, like silver, copper, or titanium.
Understanding gold purity
When we talk about the purity of the gold compared to other metals, we talk in terms of karats (not carats like with diamonds). A pure gold piece is 24 karats, the highest amount. Half gold and half other metals (50/50) would be 12 karats, and you can probably reason out the other percentages from there. You probably won’t see lower than 10k gold listed anywhere.
Legally, in the US at least, something can only be called “solid gold” if it’s 24 karats (which you will probably never find in jewelry). If it’s not literally 100% gold, even if it’s still a high percentage of gold, it has to be described in karats instead.
Gold colors and gold alloys
The natural color of gold is diluted when it’s mixed with other alloys, so the resulting color is a combination of gold + the color of the alloyed metal. White gold, for instance, is usually gold + metal alloy of nickel, copper, and tin. Note that gold and nickel alloys can cause allergic reactions in people with nickel allergies.
Rose gold, which is a gold + copper alloy, is my personal favorite because I’m somewhere between a soft autumn and deep autumn in coloring.
What “gold-filled” and “gold-plated” mean with metal jewelry
Gold-filled jewelry is just what it sounds like: a fraction of the jewelry is made up of, or “filled”, with a specific karat of gold. So gold earrings could be something like 1/20 16k gold. That means that 1/20th (5%) of the weight of the metal is made up of 14k gold.
Gold-plated jewelry is similar, in that it’s literally a layer, or plate, of gold over another, less expensive metal. It can extremely thin. I don’t think it’s worth buying gold-plated jewelry (or gold vermeil, which is a slightly thicker layer); the plating will inevitably wear off.
Gold shopping suggestion: Buy pieces that are 14k or 18k gold or are gold-filled.
Silver jewelry
Silver is also a common jewelry metal and is less expensive than gold. It has a beautiful luster, but one of its biggest drawbacks is that it tarnishes in open air (it’s a chemical reaction to the hydrogen sulfide in the air).
When you’re not wearing silver, keep it in an enclosed space to slow down the rate at which it tarnishes. Tarnishing will still happen regardless, so you’ll need to polish your silver (using products like these) occasionally for as long as you own it.
Silver alloys
Like gold, silver is pretty soft on its own, so it’s commonly alloyed with a few different metals.
- Sterling silver is by far the most common silver alloy. It’s 92.5% silver, usually mixed with copper or another very hard metal for the remaining 7.5%. Other silver alloys with less silver have been created to prevent tarnishing.
- Stainless steel is used in watches and some other jewelry, and contains 10% or more chromium, which prevents tarnishing and provides durability and increases the hardness of the metal.
Silver plated, silver vermeil, and silver filled jewelry are available, just like gold-filled jewelry. Of these, I would only consider silver filled pieces.
Silver shopping suggestion: Buy sterling silver or stainless steel pieces.
Platinum jewelry
Platinum is a naturally white metal that is more expensive than gold (because it is made up of more of the pure metal and is rarer), as well as heavier and more durable (meaning it will dent but not break off). However, it’s actually softer than gold, so it will scratch more easily than a 14k gold piece would.
Many engagement and wedding rings are made of platinum. You can also easily find chain jewelry and hoop earrings in platinum.
Platinum won’t tarnish. You can polish it if desired to smooth out any dents, or you can leave it unpolished to build a patina (or antique-looking finish).
When people talk about platinum, they might be referring to both literally the element platinum, as well as a few other “-ium” metals, like iridium and rhodium.
To be called platinum, jewelry has to be at least 90% pure.
Platinum shopping suggestion: If you can afford it and like the color of white-silver metal, pure platinum jewelry is a good choice.
Other types of metal jewelry
There are a couple of other metals that are prevalent in high-end jewelry.
Titanium
Titanium is the hardest metal and hypoallergenic (which is why it’s used in a lot of body piercings). It’s commonly used in men’s jewelry, but it generally shouldn’t be used for rings because it can’t be resized.
Tungsten carbide
Tungsten carbide is another very durable metal that has become more popular in men’s jewelry. You probably won’t find it in feminine jewelry.
My metal jewelry buying suggestions
If you like the look of white/silver jewelry, I would buy something that contains at least some platinum or one of the other –ium metals. I wouldn’t get white gold (which is usually alloyed with rhodium, which wears off) because it will have to be re-plated regularly.
If you like the look of yellow gold or rose gold, I would get 14 or 18K solid gold mixed with the alloy you want to give it the desired color.
Where to buy quality jewelry
I don’t recommend Amazon, because there’s no quality control on their products these days. I also wouldn’t go to big retailers (like Macy’s or Nordstrom). The quality of a piece of jewelry there might be high, but it will often be overpriced.
Right now I like Missoma and Mejuri for a good tradeoff between price and quality (many of their pieces are $200ish). Be aware that many of their pieces are plated or vermeil and not solid. Certain jewelry sellers on Etsy also sell quality metal jewelry for reasonable prices (check each shop’s details and shop reviews). You can also visit thrift stores and garage sales to find pre-owned pieces.
