We’ve all been there. While you’re battling to decide whether you can really afford to buy that designer piece, a little voice in your head will call out dramatic Pinterest slogans until you finally add to cart. It’s not long after you get the order confirmation email, that buyer’s remorse starts to trickle in, and you wonder just how much ramen you might have to eat for all future meals before you can pay off those $1,200 solid gold hoops.
Luckily, there is a happy medium between an excessive splurge that’ll make your credit score wince, and costume jewelry that will turn your finger green.
Cue in demi-fine jewelry, the perfect alternative to high fashion designer pieces and fast fashion costume pieces.
Demi-fine jewelry gracefully tows the line between fine jewelry and fashion (also known as costume) jewelry. The term was popularized by luxury e-retailer Net-a-Porter after a new wave of brands began introducing trendy, affordable and high-quality pieces to meet the growing needs of consumers. While the mass jewelry market has seen a decline from 2019-2020 in sales, demi-fine brands are seeing double digit growth.
What makes jewelry demi-fine?
Unlike fashion jewelry that commonly uses base metals like copper, stainless steel and brass, demi-fine jewelry is made only of precious metals like sterling silver and gold. All of Tehina & Co. jewelry falls under the category of gold vermeil, meaning the base metal is 925 Sterling Silver under gold plating that is at least 2.5 microns thick (this is 5x thicker than gold fashion jewelry). The ratio of these precious metals allows for demi-fine jewelry to be priced at a more affordable rate than fine jewelry (which is always solid gold or solid silver).
With proper care and storage, your demi-fine jewelry will not tarnish and can last for many years after a purchase is made.