The end of plating.

I have been contemplating about the plating on my jewelry a lot lately. And finally, the past September it was made clear to me, along with so many other things about my life and my work.

But first, allow me to share a few facts about what I am talking about. Plating is the process through which a piece of jewelry made from a certain metal or alloy is covered with a layer of another metal.

PRONS OF PLATING

·         It keeps the jewel longer from tarnishing.

·         With plating we can change the color of the base metal, we can make silver look like gold or brass look like silver.

·         Plating can hide small imperfections on the metal finishing, like fire scale.

All this sounds great but…

CONS OF PLATING

·         As all coatings in general, wear off in time and all the chemical and sanitizers we use in the post-Covid era, can cause nasty discolorations on the plated surface.

·         The only way to restore a plated jewel is by replating it. This means that you need to send it back to its creator or take it to a plating company yourself.

·         Plating is, by nature, harmful to the environment. This is because cyanide, which is a very harmful chemical, is very commonly used in the plating process. There are many other chemicals that are used, including acid cleaners, alkaline cleaners, abrasives and solvents.

I ’ve been weighting the pros and cons for some time, but it was one thought that struck me and finalized my decision last September: I realized that wanting to make silver look like gold or brass look like silver, was not compatible with the way I have chosen to live my life, by embracing the isness of things.

So, after two months of intense work, I proudly announce that I am eliminating all plated jewelry from my collections and embracing the natural look of metals and the sustainable way to do my work. Sterling silver, bronze and brass at their natural state are friendly to the environment and also to the skin as they don't contain nickel which is the number one cause of skin allergies from jewelry.

I have redesigned the past collections and created a brand new one. It was a ton of work but I am very happy with my decision and all the new things it brings!

Thank you so much for reading!

Love

Ioanna