What gold vermeil actually is, and how to keep it
Most jewelry sold online as gold is not gold. It is a layer of gold sitting on top of something cheaper, and the honest question is only ever how thick that layer is and what is underneath it.
Vermeil is a specific answer to that question, and unusually for this industry, it is a legally defined one.
The three things you are actually choosing between
Plated is a microscopically thin layer of gold applied over a base metal, most often brass. The thickness is typically a fraction of a micron. It wears through, sometimes within a few months of regular wear, and when it does there is brass underneath. Brass is what turns skin green. There is no version of a plated piece that improves with time.
Vermeil is a thick layer of gold over solid sterling silver. In the United States the word is regulated rather than decorative. The base has to be sterling silver, the gold has to be at least 10 karat, and the layer has to measure at least 2.5 microns. That is many times the thickness of standard plating. When the surface eventually shows wear, what is underneath is silver.
Solid gold is gold throughout. There is nothing to wear off because there is no layer. It costs considerably more, and for most pieces it is not necessary. For the one or two things a person wears every day for decades, it works out cheaper over a long enough period, because it never needs replacing.
Why the legal definition matters
Almost nothing else in jewelry marketing is regulated. Words like demi-fine, fine, luxury and heirloom mean whatever the brand using them wants them to mean. Vermeil is one of the few terms with a floor under it, which makes it useful to you as a buyer.
If a listing says gold plated, you learn nothing about thickness. If it says vermeil, you learn three things at once: the base metal, the minimum karat and the minimum layer. That is why we use the word and why we say it precisely.
Why recycled
All of our gold is recycled, which means it comes from existing material rather than newly mined ore. Gold does not degrade, so recycled gold is chemically identical to newly mined gold. There is no quality trade-off, only a supply chain one.
We are certified by the Responsible Jewellery Council, which audits the chain of custody, and we work with the Artisanal Gold Council. Those certifications cover how the material is sourced and traded. They do not certify design or durability, and we would rather say that plainly than imply they cover more than they do.
How to keep vermeil looking new
- Last on, first off. Put jewelry on after perfume, sunscreen, lotion and hairspray, and take it off before you shower, swim or exercise. This one habit does more than everything else combined.
- Keep it away from chlorine and salt water. Both are harder on gold layers than anything you will encounter day to day.
- Store it dry and separate. Pieces rubbing against each other in a dish is abrasion. A soft pouch or a lined box, one piece per compartment.
- Wipe it with a soft dry cloth. Not a polishing cloth. Polishing cloths are mildly abrasive and are made for solid metal. On vermeil they remove the thing you are trying to keep.
- Do not use silver dip or jewelry cleaner. These are formulated to strip tarnish from sterling. On a vermeil piece they attack the gold layer.
What happens over years, honestly
Rings wear faster than earrings. That is not a defect, it is friction. Your hands touch everything, your ears touch almost nothing. A vermeil ring worn daily for several years will show wear at the points where it meets other surfaces. A pair of vermeil earrings worn just as often may look untouched.
This is worth knowing before you buy, because it should change what you choose. If there is one piece you plan never to take off, that is the piece to consider in solid gold. For everything else, vermeil gives you the same look with the same materials underneath, at a price that lets you own more than one thing.
Every product page on our site lists its exact materials under Materials. If anything there is unclear, reply to this and ask. We would rather answer than have you guess.