Brass, zinc alloy, and plating thickness: a spec-sheet vocabulary
The five fields that decide whether a fashion jewelry style survives its first season — and how to compare two quotes line by line.
Fashion jewelry quotes are easy to compare on price and impossible to compare without five fields. Here is the vocabulary.
The five fields
- Base material grade — zinc alloy or brass. Weight, rigidity and plating adhesion all follow from this.
- Plating method — electroplate (bath) or PVD (vacuum). The process, not the color name, predicts wear life.
- Plating thickness — in µm, measured at incoming inspection. Thin plating on a ring band is the classic first-season failure.
- Dimensions — stated in mm, per style, so a “6 mm hoop” is 6 mm in every listing you build from it.
- Weight — in grams. It is what your shipping quote and your customer’s first impression are both made of.
Comparing two quotes
Put the two spec sheets side by side and read down the five fields. If a quote is missing a field, ask for it in writing before comparing prices — the missing field is where the difference usually hides.
Where compliance fits in
For styles sold into the EU, coated articles fall under nickel release limits enforced after wear simulation. The standard, the limit and the per-batch reporting model are covered in the compliance center — worth reading before your first EU order, not after.