The Vyara Standard
What we use, why we use it, and how it compares.
Not all jewellery is made equal. And as a retailer, the material your stock is made from directly affects how your customers feel about your store — and whether they come back. Most fashion jewellery wholesalers don't publish their material specifications. We do. This page explains exactly what goes into every Vyara piece, and how it compares to other materials commonly found in the wholesale market.
The Base Metal
The base metal is the foundation of any jewellery piece. It determines durability, skin safety, and how well the plating adheres and lasts over time.
Most fashion jewellery in the wholesale market is made from brass or zinc alloy. These are inexpensive materials but they oxidise, cause skin reactions, and lose their finish quickly — especially with daily wear, sweat, and water exposure.
At Vyara, we work exclusively with 304L and 316L stainless steel. These are surgical-grade alloys — the same grades used in medical implants and food-grade equipment. The chromium content in both grades forms a passive protective layer on the surface, making the metal resistant to rust, corrosion, and tarnishing.
316L additionally contains molybdenum, which gives it superior resistance to chloride environments — including saltwater and heavily chlorinated pools. This is why our pieces genuinely hold up to daily wear, not just controlled conditions.
A NOTE ON STERLING SILVER:
Sterling silver is a genuine precious metal — 92.5% pure silver — and carries real perceived value. It is an excellent material for fine or heirloom jewellery. However, for fashion jewellery intended for daily wear at wholesale price points, it has practical limitations. It tarnishes with air exposure, requires regular polishing, and the 7.5% alloy content (usually copper) can cause skin irritation in some customers. For everyday fashion jewellery, stainless steel offers comparable aesthetics at a fraction of the cost, with superior durability and lower maintenance for your customers.
The Plating
The gold finish on jewellery can be applied in two ways — electroplating and PVD (Physical Vapour Deposition). These are not the same process and the difference in quality is significant.
Electroplating deposits a layer of gold onto the base metal using an electric current. It is the most common method in low-cost fashion jewellery. The layer is thin and adheres weakly, which means it wears, fades, and chips with daily use, friction, water, and sweat.
PVD (Physical Vapour Deposition) bonds gold at the molecular level inside a vacuum chamber. The result is a harder, more uniform coating that adheres more strongly to the base metal surface. PVD-plated pieces resist scratching, fading, and tarnishing significantly better than electroplated pieces — making them far more suitable for daily wear.
All Vyara pieces use 18K gold PVD plating.
Why Plating Thickness Matters
Within PVD plating, thickness varies — and this is where most wholesale suppliers fall short. The majority cannot tell you their plating thickness because they don't measure or control it at source.
Plating thickness is measured in microns. One micron is one millionth of a metre. At lower thicknesses, the gold layer is too thin to withstand daily friction, sweat, and water — and the piece begins to show wear within months.
Vyara pieces are plated to 0.5 to 0.8 microns — the range used by quality demi-fine jewellery brands. At this thickness, the plating holds up to daily wear and water exposure. Some of our pieces reach up to 1 micron on high-wear areas such as clasps and contact points.
We are transparent about our specifications. If you want to verify before ordering, ask us directly.
What This Means for Your Store
When you stock Vyara, your customers get jewellery that holds up. Fewer complaints. Fewer returns. More reorders.
And when a customer asks what it is made from, you have a real answer — not a vague "gold plated" or "hypoallergenic" with nothing behind it. That builds trust in your store, not just in the jewellery.
Our designs are also curated specifically to avoid overlap with mass wholesale. What you stock from Vyara is unlikely to appear in the store next door.
If you have questions about our specifications or want to verify details before placing your first order, we are happy to share. Reach out directly.