Gold-filled is a layered material that was designed for traditional jewelry wear. It is made to withstand normal use conditions and last very well without discoloration. However, no one imagined permanent jewelry wear when this material was engineered decades ago. Permanent jewelry wear inherently exposes metals to more extreme conditions. One challenge is constant friction against clothing and the body that can wear through the surface gold layer over time.  Another concern is repeated direct contact with lotions, soaps, and other beauty products that sometimes contain high levels of sulfate compounds that induce tarnish reactions. This is also an issue for sterling silver, which can tarnish too. However, silver tarnish can be removed with cleaning. Gold filled tarnish happens under the surface layer of gold and cannot be fixed once it occurs. For these reasons, we do not recommend gold-filled for permanent jewelry use. You can offer a better customer service experience with 14kt gold or sterling silver. These are the materials we promote in our permanent jewelry content and product selection.

Gold-filled bracelets and necklaces should be made with clasps for regular removal. If you still wish to continue offering gold-filled for permanent jewelry, you may encounter issues across all different chain styles and manufacturers. We recommend that you set realistic expectations with your clients and consider describing gold-filled risks in your signed client agreements.

We recently added gold-filled heart chain from a different factory in Italy. Scroll down to click on the series. However, please be informed that permanent wear on the body can potentially lead to discoloration across all styles and manufacturers. This material was not designed with permanent use in mind. We provide additional information in the “what you should know” section of our resource article here: https://www.halsteadbead.com/articles/permanent-bracelets