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What makes a piece of jewellery look considered rather than cheap has little to do with its size. It comes down to four checkable things: the metal's purity, how the stone is held, the clasp, and the thickness of the plating. Each one is visible or statable before you buy, and each is exactly where a cheaper piece cuts a corner.
None of these four show up in a photo shot at a flattering angle. They show up in the stamp on the metal, in how a stone moves under gentle pressure, in how the clasp opens, and in how a piece looks after a season of ordinary wear. This is what we check before we put our name on a piece.
What does the 925 stamp actually tell you?
A piece stamped 925, .925 or S925 is declaring a specific alloy, not a style. A 925 stamp means 92.5 percent silver by weight, not a decoration. The remaining 7.5 percent is almost always copper, added because pure silver alone is too soft to hold a setting through daily wear. We cover the standard itself in is 925 sterling silver real silver.
That stamp should still be true under whatever finish sits on top. On our sterling silver cross pendant, the 925 mark is cut into the piece itself, not printed only on a tag, which matters once the face is covered in stones and the metal is the one thing you can no longer see. Costume jewellery skips the stamp for a plain reason: it is usually brass, zinc alloy or stainless steel under a coating, a legitimate lower-cost choice, but nothing obliges the piece to say so. Some uncertified base-metal alloys also release more nickel against skin than sterling does; EU rules cap nickel release from skin-contact jewellery at 0.5 micrograms per square centimetre per week, tightened to 0.2 for pierced items, which is one reason an unmarked gift occasionally irritates skin where a stamped one does not.
How can you tell if a stone is properly set?
Set stones are held by metal, mechanically, at defined points. Glued stones are held by adhesive bonding the stone's flat underside to a shallow cup, and nothing else. A stone held by prongs or a bezel is mechanically secure; a glued-in stone is not. Prongs are the small claws gripping a stone at its widest point; a bezel is a continuous rim wrapped around the edge instead.
On our stud earrings, each stone sits in a four-prong setting, and the same approach holds every stone on our tennis bracelet. You can check the hold yourself: press gently at the stone's edge with a fingertip. A properly set stone does not move. A glued stone often has a faint give, and it is more likely to let go after a snag on a sleeve than after a hard knock, because adhesive is the only thing holding it.
Why does the clasp decide whether a gift gets worn?
A clasp never appears in a listing photo shot with the piece laid flat, so it is the easiest corner to cut, and the part that decides whether a gift gets worn daily or sits in a drawer once it is annoying to close.
A spring ring clasp is a small ring closed by an internal coiled spring. A lobster clasp uses a hinged lever and a stiffer spring-loaded gate, a more complex part that is noticeably easier to operate one-handed. A lobster clasp can outlast a spring ring clasp by a decade or more of daily wear — roughly 15 to 20 years against 3 to 5, since a spring ring's fine internal wire eventually loses its temper. Our sterling silver cross pendant with clear stones closes its chain with a lobster clasp for that reason; a spring ring suits a fine, light chain better than anything worn daily.
| What to check | Reads as cheap | Reads as considered |
|---|---|---|
| Metal | No stamp, or one that does not match the stated metal | 925 stamp cut into the piece itself |
| Setting | Smooth cup, no visible claws or rim | Prongs or a bezel visibly gripping the stone |
| Clasp | Tiny spring ring, stiff or already loose | Lobster clasp, easy to open one-handed |
| Plating | Base metal shows at edges within weeks | Colour holds evenly through normal wear |
Does plating thickness actually matter?
Plating is a layer of one metal bonded electrochemically over a base, not a dip that tints the surface. How long it lasts depends almost entirely on how thick that layer is, a detail most listings leave out. Gold plating thinner than about 0.3 microns is flash plating, and it wears through in weeks. Standard gold plating sits at roughly 3 to 5 microns, sometimes more than 10, and holds its colour for years rather than weeks.
Rhodium plating follows the same logic at a different scale: a durable finish runs around 0.75 to 1.5 microns, and anything noticeably thinner behaves like flash plating and discolours fast. Our tennis bracelet lists 5x rhodium plating, consistent with multiple passes rather than a single thin coat. We go through what affects plating life in does rhodium plating wear off, and how long does it last. The finish you choose is cosmetic, not structural: our floating solitaire necklace comes in rhodium or gold plating over the same 925 base, and our cross pendant necklace is offered as the identical piece in either tone as well, so the finish you pick does not change what is underneath.
Does a heavier piece mean a better-made piece?
Mostly no, worth saying plainly since the idea is common. Weight tells you how much metal is physically present, a real fact, but nothing about how that metal was set, clasped or finished. A thicker-gauge piece, like our Miami cuban link bracelet, genuinely does carry more metal by design, but a hollow piece in thicker sheet can still out-weigh a thinner solid one. Checking the stamp, the setting and the clasp directly gets you a straighter answer than hefting the piece in your hand.
Pieces built around these checks
Everything below carries a 925 stamp under its plating and holds its stones in prongs or a bezel rather than glue.
Floating solitaire necklace925 silver, rhodium or gold plating
Moissanite stud earringsfour-prong setting, five widths
Moissanite cross pendantsterling cross, gold or rhodium plating
Moissanite tennis braceletprong-set stones, multi-pass rhodium
Moissanite eternity band925 stamp beneath the rhodium finish
Browse the full range by category — rings, earrings, bracelets and necklaces — or start with our best sellers.
Which piece should you start with as a gift?
For someone you are not buying jewellery for regularly, stud earrings are the lowest-risk start: no sizing to get wrong, and a four-prong setting is easy to check before you decide. If the occasion is a specific milestone, our breakdown of anniversary jewellery by year goes through which pieces traditionally fit which year.
More questions
We answer shipping, returns, sizing and payment questions on our FAQ page. If something is not covered there, get in touch and a person from the workshop will answer.
Common questions
What four things make jewellery look expensive?
Metal purity that is stamped rather than implied, a stone held by prongs or a bezel rather than glue, a clasp built to be opened and closed thousands of times, and plating thick enough to survive normal wear. Size and weight are not on that list.
Does a 925 stamp guarantee good quality?
It guarantees the alloy underneath is 92.5 percent silver, which is a real and checkable fact. It does not guarantee the setting, the clasp or the plating on top of that silver are well made, so it is one check among several rather than the whole answer.
How do I check if a stone is glued in rather than set?
Look at the metal around the stone. Prongs are visible claws that grip the stone at distinct points, and a bezel is a continuous metal rim around the edge. If the stone sits inside a smooth setting with no visible claws or rim, it is most likely glued, and a snag or a knock is more likely to take it out.
Why do lobster clasps cost more than spring rings?
A lobster clasp has a hinged lever and a small spring-loaded gate, which is a more complex part to manufacture than the single coiled spring inside a spring ring. The complexity is also why it holds up longer: a lobster clasp has a working life of roughly 15 to 20 years of daily wear against 3 to 5 years for a spring ring.
Is a heavier piece of jewellery always better made?
No. Weight mostly tells you how much metal is there, not how it was set, clasped or finished. A thick, hollow piece can weigh more than a thinner solid one, so weight is a weak proxy for quality compared with checking the stamp, the setting and the clasp directly.
References
The figures here come from published materials and metalworking references rather than marketing copy. Plating thickness ranges and the behaviour of flash plating are drawn from industry plating guidance and jewellery-repair technical sources; actual plating life varies with how a piece is worn and cleaned. Nickel release limits for skin-contact jewellery (0.5 µg/cm²/week generally, 0.2 for pierced items) are set out in the EU Nickel Directive and measured using the EN 1811 test method. Sterling silver's 92.5 percent silver, 7.5 percent copper composition is the long-established millesimal fineness standard behind the 925 hallmark. Clasp lifespan figures reflect typical bench-jeweller estimates for daily wear rather than a controlled study, and individual results vary with use.
