Gold & Rose Gold Plating
Yellow & Rose Gold Plating
Plating has a bad reputation for a couple of reasons. It can start to wear off after repeated use, and it can cause allergic reactions in the wearer. We have developed a technique that incorporates the fun (and affordable) pop of color that plating can offer with a more durable piece that stands the test of time.
To accomplish plating, we take a silver piece of jewelry, dunk it in a gold solution, and run electricity through the piece so that the gold adheres to the metal. Sometimes this is done with a base metal like copper. For plating to work with a base metal, you must first coat the piece in nickel before applying gold. Many people are allergic to nickel, and this is the most common reason jewelry can turn your skin green. We plate directly onto silver, which negates the use of nickel.
Since plating is a thin layer of metal it can rub off with friction. To protect the plating we keep the gold only on the recessed layers of the piece. To accomplish this ,we cover the entire piece in gold or rose gold, and then remove the plating from the surface levels. The plating in the recessed areas won’t get rubbed or bumped or scratched like the surface would. Of course if your jewelry goes through the washing machine it could see some action, but hopefully that doesn’t happen.
This may lead you to a more difficult question- how do I clean a piece of jewelry that isn’t flat? Can I rub it with a polishing cloth or put it in a silver cleaning solution to remove tarnish?
We have found that brush your pieces with an old toothbrush and dish detergent is the best way to remove dust and dirt from the inner layers. Rubbing the silver surface with a polishing cloth will keep the tarnish in check. And as always, we guarantee our work. If you ever want a professional cleaning of your Shade Metals jewelry just send us an email and we will arrange for you to ship it to us free of charge for a cleaning.