OUR MATERIALS

An implant-grade, nickel free, hypoallergenic and highly resistant metal. Titanium is ideal for both initial body piercings and healed piercings because of its virtually 'Nickel Free' content. Titanium has become one of the preferred materials used in piercing jewellery. Grade Ti6AL-4V, ASTM F136 is the specification for the alloy to be used for surgical implants. It is available in highly Polished or Anodised Colours. Titanium is only half the weight of steel and twice as strong. Titanium can be sterilised in an autoclave.

Surgical Steel is probably the most popular body jewellery material available. It is high quality, affordable and extremely durable for long term wear.  316L and 316LVM is a surgical implant grade, which is the most used material for Body Jewellery. The two most common standards that apply to body jewellery made of steel are ASTM F138 and ISO 5832-1 which describe the qualities of steel for surgical implants.

These both contain alloys like nickel, however they are kept inside the material through a special manufacturing process, so they cannot be released from the metal. Polishing the jewellery to a mirror like lustre results in a protective layer of chromium oxide, which reduces the release of the Nickel content into the tissue. Surgical Steel can be sterilised in an autoclave.

Gold is considered as one of the most precious metals in the world and is appropriate for initial piercings if it is 14k or 18k. Gold higher than 18k is too soft for body jewellery because it can easily be scratched.

All our Solid Gold items are marked with 750 (for 18 karat). On small items you might need to use a jeweller loupe to be able to see the tiny laser marking. Additionally, we also mark our Swiss Responsibility Mark ("Verantwortlichkeitsmarke") which guarantees the gold content of our products.

The jewellery is coated in a heated chamber under high vacuum. Electric voltage applied will form a plasma in the chamber and the introduction of various gases produces an ion bombardment. This bombardment atomizes the cathode material (24k real Gold) into tiny substances which are deposited on the jewellery. The result is a hardened layer, which is biocompatible. It can be autoclaved.

The jewellery is coated in a heated chamber under high vacuum. Electric voltage applied will form a plasma in the chamber and the introduction of various gases produces an ion bombardment. This bombardment atomizes the cathode material (Real 14-22K Rose Gold alloy) into tiny substances which are deposited on the jewellery. The result is a hardened layer, which is biocompatible. It can be autoclaved.

The jewellery is coated in a heated chamber under high vacuum. Electric voltage applied will form a plasma in the chamber and the introduction of various gases produces an ion bombardment. This bombardment atomizes the cathode material into tiny substances, which are deposited on the jewellery. The result is a hardened layer, which is biocompatible. It can be autoclaved.

Cobalt Chromium Alloys possess high corrosion resistance and amazing strength. It is very hard to break, bend, deform or even scratch. At the same time, it has an appealing white colour and shine that resembles precious metals like white gold or platinum. It is widely used in the dental industry and for medical implants like knee and hip joints. The alloy we use is Nickel Free with a smooth and shiny surface. The price is higher than Surgical Steel but lower than Titanium.

Bioplast® is a trademarked medical grade plastic. Bioplast® is Biocompatible, flexible and can be cut to any length and threaded by any metal ball closure. Bioplast® adjusts to the body temperature and not to the outside air temperature, like metals. Therefore, people getting pierced with Bioplast®, have less swelling and infections. The healing process with Bioplast® is faster than with any other materials. No allergic reactions (no nickel) Bioplast® can be sterilised by autoclave. It also has a competitive price and can be combined with Titanium or SS316L. Bioplast® is not visible in X-Rays if used on its own without metal attachments. Bioplast® is the best material for initial piercing.

Sterling Silver is the perfect in-between what is used in fashion and fine jewellery. Most of our silver is rhodium plated, which protects the silver from tarnish and makes it more shiny. Reactions to 925 Sterling are very rare because they typically consist of 92.5% pure silver and 7.5% copper. 18K Gold plated or Vermeil is a layer of real Gold on top of solid 925 Sterling Silver, so the base metal is not an alloy and will not cause reaction. We do not recommend Silver for initial piercings as they may cause irritation for some people.

Cubic Zirconia is currently the most popular substitute to a diamond because to the untrained eye they look identical. Cubic Zirconia or CZ as it is referred to is made from zirconium dioxide, which although a different chemical composition from diamonds, comes closest than any other gem to matching the characteristics of a diamond.

Natural CZ was first discovered in 1899 but it wasn’t until the late 70’s that man-made CZ first came into production for use in jewellery. CZ on first impression looks just like a diamond but under close inspection there are differences. CZ has a gravity of between 5.6 and 6.0 which means it’s 1.6 times the weight of a diamond. It has a hardness of 8 on the Mohs scale, a refraction index of 2.176 and a dispersive power of 0.060, which means that it’s not as hard as a diamond. CZ is slightly less sparkly, but displays more prismatic fire which means more colour sparkles within the gem.

CZ do not display impurities, as natural diamonds do. It's also clear in colour, which most diamonds aren’t, but they can be coloured by adding metal oxides in the production process. CZ are good thermal insulators, however they cannot withstand the same kind of heat that diamonds can, which is one test that is used to distinguish between the two. Proper care for CZ is important as they are more brittle than diamonds and as thus susceptible to wear and tear, such as chipping and scratches, over time.

PREMIUM CUBIC ZIRCONIA is a cubic zirconia cut and polished to perfection. They have all the characteristics of a real diamond with its exceptional cut and sheer brilliance. With near identical properties to diamonds in terms of brilliance, refraction and durability. Zirconia can withstand very high temperatures and can therefore be set like a genuine diamond. All stones for our Premium Zirconia piercing range are set by hand and the items are then polished by hand.

Crystals are man-made. Crystal glass, made from quartz, sand and minerals, is cut like a gemstone. As with Premium Zirconia, Premium Crystals indicate the higher precision of the cutting process which leads to a higher cost compared to other crystals in the market. As the light doesn't break and reflect (sparkle) in the same way as in Gemstones or Zirconias, Crystals have a foil in the back to reflect the light (creating a mirror effect). Crystal's biggest advantage is the sheer variety of shapes and colours. The foiled back enables their flat shape, making relatively flat sized attachments. The downside is that the foiling can turn into a greenish colour from frequent use of shampoo, shaving foam, toothpaste, perfume or similar products.

Lab Created Opal (GIA: Polymer Impregnated synthetic opal) is impregnated in the laboratory for around a year to display similar properties as that of natural opal. Essentially, the naturally occurring process has been sped up in a lab. Lab Created Opal is as beautiful, with the perfect colour dynamicity of Precious Opal. Opal material from the KYOCERA Corporation in Japan is composed of at least 80% Silica and exhibits beautiful and vivid opal colours. This material should not be mistaken with Opal-like plastics sold as imitation, or blatantly fake Opals. Those materials contain mostly 80% Resin and only 20% Silica. Therefore they do not qualify as "Lab Created Opal".