Jewelry with gold over brass or silver

[klmama]

Do you have any jewelry with gold (10,14, or 18K) over brass or silver?  Does the gold hold up?  Does how well it stays looking good depend on the type of jewelry - ring vs. necklace, for example?   Thanks for any input.

[prairiewindmomma]

Most of my jewelry is gold. I have some pretty severe metal allergies. The higher the k count, the yellower the appearance of the metal. It also gets softer.

My 18k stuff has some very faint scratching on it, but I don’t treat it delicately. 
 

The white gold I have is a palladium-silver-gold alloy. Some white gold contains a cheaper nickel alloy, which I am allergic to. There is no such thing as a pure white gold by itself.
 

 

[klmama]

17 minutes ago, Dreamergal said:

I wear a thin silver anklet bracelet plated with gold as part of my everyday jewelry and change it frequently. I shower with it. The average wear on it is 2 years max.

Thanks.  That's what I was wondering.

[Arcadia]

All my gold plated stuff are matte gold and they still look as good as matte stuff looks. I have earrings, bracelets and necklaces. They are 18k or 22k, the 18k are better for necklaces while 22k are better for earrings.

[Tap]

Location will definitely matter.  Body products will matter just as much. Thickness of coating will matter most of all!

A ring with wear fast due to washing hands, lotions, dish soap, wear and tear.

Earrings will last longest if you don't get hair products on it. How long they will last depends on products you use. If you use hair spray, oils, leave in products etc, it will wear faster.

Face piercings will depend on face products. Face products can be very harsh, because of the myriad of acids people use on thier skin for aging/fresh looking skin. 

Bracelets wear due similar to reasons as rings, but also wear against clothing and the coating can rub off simply due to friction. 

Anklets can wear against clothes/shoes and body products. Removing it prior to showering and dressing will help, but the friction will still rub the coating. A summer anklet worn with shorts and sandals will last wayyy longer than one worn with pants and tennis shoes. 

 

I would assume a year of daily wear on coated jewelry,  two years max.  After about a year, you will start to see wear on the edges (coating coming off). It depends on how pristine you want it to look, on how long it will last past that. If you don't wear it daily, it can last for several years. You will need to clean it periodically to freshen the finish (it will slowly dull like any metal).