The other metals, usually copper, will oxidise which will cause the sterling silver jewelry to tarnish.

However, silver is very easy to maintain and can last for years at an affordable price.

For longer lasting jewelry, opt for at LEAST 1 micron thick of real gold plating or 0.075 micron thick of rhodium plating over genuine S925 silver that will last for years with minimal maintenance. This is also the minimum standard at Dear Diary.

Usually the price of gold vermeil jewelry starts from SGD $100+.

The gold plating must be at least 10 karats which also means it will have at least 41.7% of gold content. 14K has 58.3% gold content, 18K has 75% and 24K has 99.9%. Higher karatage does not means it is the best option too because pure gold is very malleable and has a stronger yellow tone as compared to lesser gold content pieces. Not only that, because of how soft gold is, it can get scratches easily.

Basically, vermeil jewelry is the best value pieces you can have that last long and is the next best option to high-end fine jewelry.

All pieces at Dear Diary can be customised according to your desired plating thickness. Coontact us or or DM us on Instagram for any custom order you have in mind.

Brass is an alloy of copper and zinc. Copper very commonly oxidises with exposure to the air and will cause the jewelry to tarnish and your skin to turn green. However, brass jewelry is very affordable as compared to other metals.

Although brass can tarnish, the gold layer is thick enough to the jewelry to be worn in the shower safely without tarnishing for many years. This also means that the price for gold-filled can be higher too. Usually these pieces start from hundreds of dollars.

However, this should not be confused with gold-plated brass. Gold plating will fade away faster than gold-filled pieces, depending on how thick is the plating. This usually will expose brass directly on your skin which may cause irritation or turn your skin green if you have sensitive skin.

Rhodium itself is almost twice as expensive as gold, a thin layer of rhodium plating will have the same longevity as a thick layer of gold plating.

This is because it is a hard metal, it is very durable and resistant to scratches as compared to gold. There is also a limit as to how thick rhodium can be plated over a base metal. If it is too thick, it can appear "crumply" on the jewelry.

A common misconception is rhodium is the same as white gold. Hence, some people may think that silver colour pieces are "white-gold plated". However, it is actually rhodium plated.

White gold itself is gold mixed with other metals to achieve a near-white silver colour. However, white gold itself will have a slight yellowish colour. On the other hand, rhodium is the metal that gives a white silver colour to almost all the silver colour jewelry in the industry.

The chromium in stainless steel forms an invisible protective layer that prevents stainless steel from rusting, tarnishing, or changing colors. Stainless steel also contain small traces of nickel for durability, the amount depends on the grade of the metal. At Dear Diary, our steel metal has a lower amount of nickel.

However, stainless steel jewelry may lose its colour over time for plated gold pieces. Hence, choose a stainless steel jewelry with at LEAST 0.5 micron thick of  gold plating.