A topic came up on a jewelry forum today. Someone who was just starting to sell jewelry wanted to know if it was okay to use silver-plated and gold-plated components.
Here are some considerations:
It's tempting to cut money corners when you first start out making and selling jewelry. A base metal clasp may cost a cent or two, while a sterling silver version may cost 10, 20 or even 40 times that. Prices for old findings can be astronomical for the casual jewelry designer. Especially when we are first starting out, and we not including our labor and overhead in our pricing formulas, that extra money for more expensive materials can seem like a deal-breaker.
Here's why that thinking can be MORE expensive for you in the end.
American-made componenets USUALLY means BETTER QUALITY than imported components. And American-made sterling silver components USUALLY means
"better yet". (Exceptons include sterling silver components made in Israel, Turkey, and sometimes India.) nd you will have a product that comes rarely comes back to haunt you due to broken, worn or faulty components. The money you save by buying cheaper components can be lost when your jewelry comes back for too many repairs or when it doesn't last, and people feel they can't invest in your work again.
Many, many people acquire metal allergies as they get older. I went from being able to stick anything in my earlobe to a nickel allergy almost overnight. I can't even wear a watch regularly for more than a week or so. I only buy jewelry made with cheap components if I LOVE it and can swap out the findings from my own inventory.
Base metals and plated metals may be find if your audience is young(er). But the minute you want to attract MY demographic (as my son said, "older than dirt"), then you must avoid these allergy-problematic materials.
The cost for silver findings is not THAT much more, especially compared to gold findings. For years, silver was actually not much more expensive than copper. It's still much closer in price to base metals than it is to gold.
Yet sterling silver is often sold right alongside gold. It's still a "precious metal." Even though it's pricier now, it's still an affordable, yet "quality" material for jewelry.
Sterling silver findings automatically put your jewelry at a higher level.
The quality of your components will attract a different audience. Someone else mentioned that certain materials call for different qualities of findings. This is very important of course. If you are designing with precious stones or expensive materials, gold or sterling findings simply "read" better than brass findings.
But your audience will actually view your work differently, too, depending on what your findings are made of.
I don't mean this to sound rude, but when I see someone selling jewelry with base-metal or plated components, I think to myself a) they are just starting out and don't know better; b) they care more about a quick sale than making a quality product and c) I worry about the intregrity of the piece (whether the piece is well-made or whether the other components are also lower quality). I'm not saying that is TRUE, I'm saying that's what I notice goes through my mind.
Precious metal findings attract a whole nother category of buyers. There are people who will ONLY buy gold. They will not even consider buying "cheap jewlery". There is another group who will only buy sterling silver. So by using inexpensive substitutes, you may automatically exclude an audience that is willing to pay a little for for these metals. Okay, re: gold, a LOT more.
What about substitutes such as gold-filled and vermeil?
Sterling silver is the "industry standard" when you start doing better craft fairs. In fact, our state guild REQUIRES either gold or sterling silver findings in the jewelry categories (which range from "metal jewelry", implying fine jewelry, to "non-metal jewelry", which includes fashion jewelry and polymer clay jewelry).
There is quality silver (and gold) plating and there is plating which is only microns thick wears out quickly. So if you only use good-quality plated metal, you should be fine--right?
The problem I found with plated findings is you can never tell what you are getting. On a necklace, some plated beads would hold up well, others would wear off quickly. Clasps and clasp components (jump rings, etc.) especially get a hard workout. The plating on them can disappear within a few months. I think this irregular wear looks even worse, because it is so noticeable (unless you've got a funky recycled collage-y jewelry thing going.)
Different supply companies buy from different sources, and even the same item from the same company can suddenly change, as the supplier changes THEIR sources. I would buy a batch of findings that were fine one month, and the next month they would vary wildly.
I've found that people seem to not care about "gold-filled", which is an actual layer of gold over base metal, generally a much thicker layer of gold than "plate". They just confuse it with gold-plate. I now only use gold-filled for color, not as a standard choice. Even stores don't seem to care as much for it, and I quit offering it in my wholesale catalog years ago.
I quit using vermeil, too. Gold plating over sterling silver SOUNDS like a great alternative to gold. But three things happen:
1) If the plating wears off, it's still a different-colored metal underneath.
2) People still read it as "gold plate", no matter what's underneath the plating.
And 3) they either don't know what vermeil is, and feel embarrassed to ask, or you get caught up in a big explanation about it and the jewelry design itself takes second place.
In the end, I ditched all my base-metal and plated findings and went with sterling silver. Except for sterling components from Turkey, Israel and some findings from India, I stick with American manufacturers--not out of "buy America" patriotism, but because I've come to rely on their consistency and quality. (I've even had quality control issues with Bali silver.)
How do I manage costs for sterling silver components?
I buy in bulk, and at wholesale prices. I research sources to find who has the best prices on which components, and buy accordingly. I try to take advantage of any sale or discontinued items. And I stick to a few tried-and-true findings--I only use 2-3 earwire designs as opposed to a dozen, for example.
Sounds obvious, but you'd be surprised at how many jewelry-makers selling work at fairs or on-line don't do this. They don't take advantage of bulk pricing. They buy their findings retail or from suppliers whose "wholesale" prices are astronomical. Or they offer dozens of earwire options, trying to make "something for everyone."
This got long and rambly, but I hope I have encouraged you to use the best materials you can when you invest your precious time and creative energy in your work.
