Materials
7ven Layers creates and curates a range of fashion-focused, unique and memorable pieces. Crafted to produce predominately semi-fine jewelry and fashion jewelry.
When it comes to fine, semi-fine and fashion jewelry, what is the real difference and which is the best? Trick question. They're all a fantastic option and should be considered based on personal factors like budget, trendy-vs-timeless and how much time, energy and money you'd like to contribute to maintenance.
Define Fashion Jewelry
Fashion jewelry is usually made with predominately base metals and lab-created imitation stones to give you the look of a premium piece, for a fraction of the price. Materials like brass, nickel, copper, aluminum, acrylic, resin, leather, cubic zirconia, diamanté, glass, Swarovski crystals and even gold/silver plated metals also fall under this same category.
Define Semi - Fine Jewelry
Semi-fine jewelry bridges the gap between fine and fashion, often using a small percentage of genuine gold and silver to fill or plate classic fashion jewelry metals like brass. Or, in best case scenarios, sterling silver, which is great for brass and nickel allergies as it is less likely to irritate skin.
Similar to fashion jewelry, semi-fine is often crafted with lab-created or enhanced gemstones and pearls that visually mimic the original at a far lower price point.
Semi-fine and gold plated jewelry requires maintenance to ensure longevity. It shouldn't be worn in water or exposed to excessive moisture and oils.
Define Gold PVD Coating
Physical vapor deposition, or PVD, is a process that many jewelry manufacturers now use as an alternative to gold plating. The technique involves coating metals such as titanium and stainless steel, “blasting” the gold onto onto it at a high temperature. PVD coatings are corrosion resistant and up to 10 times thicker than gold plating.
Define Gold Plated Jewelry
It's essentially where metals like brass and sterling silver are dipped and covered in a fine layer of genuine gold. This is called electroplating. You can expect some natural tarnishing over time with wear, however, cleaning and storing your jewelry correctly will help to minimize this.
Define Gold Vermeil Jewelry
Not to be confused with traditional gold plating, vermeil (pronounced ver-may) is a thick layer of 18k solid gold on sterling silver, as opposed to brass. It mimics the look of genuine gold, with a higher quality than fashion jewelry.