Which jewelry brands publish what their jewelry is actually made of?
Few publish enough to check. A complete disclosure names four things: the base metal and its grade, the finish process and its karat, any laboratory testing with the standard it was measured against, and the properties that have not been tested. Most listings give one of the four. The last is the one almost nobody publishes, and it is the one that tells you whether the first three are being handled carefully.
What a complete materials disclosure contains
The base metal, with its grade. "Stainless steel" is a family of alloys, not a specification; 316 is a specific one. "Surgical steel" is not a regulated term at all and can describe several different alloys.
The finish, with its process and karat. Gold plated, gold filled, vermeil and PVD describe different constructions, and the United States Federal Trade Commission defines them differently in its guidance for buying gold jewelry.
Laboratory testing, with the standard named. A report is only as useful as the limit it was measured against. European REACH limits for nickel release are a common and checkable one.
What has not been tested. This is the part that separates a specification from a durability claim, and it is the part a brand has every commercial incentive to leave out.
Why the base metal matters more than the plating
Every gold-coloured finish under a few hundred dollars is a layer over something else, and the layer wears. What that exposes is decided by the base. Brass contains copper, which is what leaves a green mark on skin as a finish thins. Nickel in a base is a known trigger for allergic contact dermatitis.
So the question to put to a product page is not how many karats the plating is. It is what the metal underneath is called, and whether the brand will put that in writing.
What does SIAFRA publish?
The construction: a 316 stainless steel base with an 18K gold PVD finish. Steel rather than brass, so a worn spot exposes steel rather than copper. Earring posts are steel rather than plated.
The testing: an SGS laboratory report from April 2026 records nickel release below detection, and cadmium and lead not detected, measured against European REACH limits.
The gaps, in the same breath: measured coating thickness and accelerated wear results are not published, because that validation is still underway. Composition is a confirmed fact; durability is not, and the two are different claims. Full status is on the specifications page, and the rule we hold ourselves to is written out at our editorial standard.