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What is the difference between gold plated, gold-filled and solid gold?

Ever wondered what the difference between gold plated, gold-filled and solid gold is? Even Shona has confessed that it can be tricky to separate the three: “It can be really confusing actually, what the different options are”.

What ‘Handmade in Sydney’ Really Means

After 12 years of dedicating ourselves to the delicate craft of jewellery, we’ve experienced many different stages of growth, challenges, hurdles, opportunities and pivots. But what we’ve learned from it all is that creating our pieces in our home of Sydney is at the core of all we do, and always will be.

So what does ‘made in Sydney’ really mean, for you, for our team, and for our creations? Allow us to explain.

END-TO-END CREATION

In handcrafting our pieces in our Sydney studio, we have complete control over not only the production process, but also how we responsibly source, manage and create with our materials. 

Being able to oversee the entire production process end-to-end, even down to the tiniest detail, we’re also able to give both our jewellers and designers the rare opportunity to work side-by-side. Taking the traditional workshop approach, a unique design process emerges, joining their two disciplines at the drawing board to ensure the best results from both a wearability, craftsmanship and longevity perspective. 

PERSONALISED TO YOU

Working locally to you, our clients, we’re able to customise almost every piece, incorporating you — or the special someone you’re creating a piece for — throughout the entire creation process.

Not only will each piece be created especially for you, imbued with your own stories and personal touches, you’ll also be able to follow the piece on its entire creation journey, allowing you to truly connect with the piece and enjoy a unique experience in the process.

And as the piece is made perfectly for you, if it’s ever in need of a repair, or needs to be resized or readjusted throughout its life, we’ll take care of all of that for you.

EMPOWERING EMERGING CREATIVES

Producing locally means that we too can support the growth of our own industry by hiring young emerging jewellers and supporting their skill development, allowing them to learn a craft which was previously in decline and keep the artform of jewellery making alive. 

In bringing them together, we’re also able to create and foster a unique, collaborative, supportive studio environment that is alive with passion and drive. 

CONSIDERED QUALITY

Overseeing the entire production process of our pieces also means that we can craft them to the highest quality possible. Throughout their creation, each piece goes through quality control at three different stages to ensure perfection from beginning to end. 

We’re also extremely encouraging of our jewellers taking their time throughout the creation process. To us, it’s best to be careful and considered, and to invest energy and love into every piece, for the best possible finished product.

This may mean that our customers have to wait a little longer for their pieces to be completed, as opposed to the speed they may be accustomed to when buying a piece off the shelf. What’s more important to us than quick turnarounds is inviting our customers to invest in heirlooms which are crafted just for them — we feel this is a worthwhile sacrifice, a small window of time in exchange for a lifetime journey with your precious piece.

What is the difference?

Our 11 years experience in the jewellery industry has afforded us awareness and learnings around materials and their behaviour when worn and exposed to everyday life.

At the beginning, we worked with gold plating, vermeil and gold filled materials, exploring different material options to create our much loved designs. Our experience and learnings with these options was that they are not ‘forever materials’, and are not best suited when creating modern heirlooms, from a longevity perspective, but also when creating pieces by hand.

These materials can degrade on exposure to the elements and in day-to-day life, meaning they are limited in how long they can be worn and enjoyed and require a greater level of care when being worn throughout daily life. Each technique has a place within the industry, whether used to create trend led pieces - designed to be worn for a season, or to create designs that have broader accessibility.

GOLD PLATED

Gold-plated jewellery consists of a base metal (typically copper or silver) with a thin layer of gold applied to the surface. This method can be sensitive to the elements and will require a level of up-keep, involving re-plating the piece periodically.

GOLD VERMEIL

Similar to gold-plating, gold vermeil is a layer of gold that is added as a coat to sterling silver. Gold vermeil requires a thicker layer of gold to be added as a standard (at least 2.5 microns).


GOLD FILLED

Gold filled jewellery is made by pressure bonding a thicker layer of gold onto a base metal (typically brass). To be considered ‘gold filled’, the gold layer must be at least 5% of the total metal content. 

Compared to gold plated or vermeil, gold filled has the thickest layer of gold, meaning it will last longer before tarnishing and wearing down to the base metal underneath the gold.

After 12 years of dedicating ourselves to the delicate craft of jewellery, we’ve experienced many different stages of growth, challenges, hurdles, opportunities and pivots. But what we’ve learned from it all is that creating our pieces in our home of Sydney is at the core of all we do, and always will be.

So what does ‘made in Sydney’ really mean, for you, for our team, and for our creations? Allow us to explain.

END-TO-END CREATION

In handcrafting our pieces in our Sydney studio, we have complete control over not only the production process, but also how we responsibly source, manage and create with our materials. 

Being able to oversee the entire production process end-to-end, even down to the tiniest detail, we’re also able to give both our jewellers and designers the rare opportunity to work side-by-side. Taking the traditional workshop approach, a unique design process emerges, joining their two disciplines at the drawing board to ensure the best results from both a wearability, craftsmanship and longevity perspective. 


PERSONALISED TO YOU

Working locally to you, our clients, we’re able to customise almost every piece, incorporating you — or the special someone you’re creating a piece for — throughout the entire creation process.

Not only will each piece be created especially for you, imbued with your own stories and personal touches, you’ll also be able to follow the piece on its entire creation journey, allowing you to truly connect with the piece and enjoy a unique experience in the process.

And as the piece is made perfectly for you, if it’s ever in need of a repair, or needs to be resized or readjusted throughout its life, we’ll take care of all of that for you.


EMPOWERING EMERGING CREATIVES

Producing locally means that we too can support the growth of our own industry by hiring young emerging jewellers and supporting their skill development, allowing them to learn a craft which was previously in decline and keep the artform of jewellery making alive. 

In bringing them together, we’re also able to create and foster a unique, collaborative, supportive studio environment that is alive with passion and drive. 


CONSIDERED QUALITY

Overseeing the entire production process of our pieces also means that we can craft them to the highest quality possible. Throughout their creation, each piece goes through quality control at three different stages to ensure perfection from beginning to end. 

We’re also extremely encouraging of our jewellers taking their time throughout the creation process. To us, it’s best to be careful and considered, and to invest energy and love into every piece, for the best possible finished product.

This may mean that our customers have to wait a little longer for their pieces to be completed, as opposed to the speed they may be accustomed to when buying a piece off the shelf. What’s more important to us than quick turnarounds is inviting our customers to invest in heirlooms which are crafted just for them — we feel this is a worthwhile sacrifice, a small window of time in exchange for a lifetime journey with your precious piece.

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Physical expressions of love exchanged with those we hold closest. For when words can’t quite match the gratitude.