Finishes and Care - Aide-mémoire

Metal finishes are a surface treatment. Satin, matte, and brushed finishes are different names often used to describe the same finish or variations of a non-shiny finish. Likewise, shiny is another name for a polished finish. Since finishes are shallow and rings are a high-wear item, finishes will change quickly on a ring but much slower on earrings or necklaces. A matte finish will become shinier, and a polished finish will become more matte. Over time they will meet in the middle, but start with what you like better. 

Want more information on satin gold finish? Feel free to contact us.

During the course of wearing a wedding band, it will acquire scuff marks. As mentioned, rings are high-wear items much like a pair of shoes and will show scuff marks pretty quickly. Scuff marks (unlike scratches) are superficial &#; they can be seen but not felt. Scuff marks can be made by hard leather, wood, and plastic (such as purses, briefcases, dishes, steering wheels). Scuff marks are a process called "burnishing." Scuff marks on a matte band will be shiny, whereas scuff marks on a shiny band will be dull. Some people feel that scuff marks look less apparent on a ring with a shiny finish than on a matte finish band. Scuff marks can be easily removed by refinishing the ring.

Scuff marks do not affect the integrity of the ring. If left, the finish will take on its own patina, considered the usual look of a wedding band. Many people take pride in this as it signifies the passage of time. 

Scratches, dings, and gouges are deeper and can be felt with your eyes closed. No metal is impervious to scratches, and wedding bands take a lot of abuse. Any metal can scratch, but how quickly it will happen depends on the metal, care, and lifestyle. Some rings (like silver which is soft) will change immediately, whereas gold, platinum, and palladium rings will hold up much better. Industrial metals like stainless steel and titanium will resist scratching for much longer. Textured bands will hide scratches much better than a smooth wide band &#; which is like a pair of white tennis shoes. 

Palladium and platinum will scratch and ding faster than gold, but unlike gold, no metal is removed when scratched but instead displaced. So over many years, a platinum or palladium band will retain about the same weight as it started. In contrast, a gold band will become thinner over time because the metal is slowly rubbed away.

With silver, palladium, platinum, and gold bands, it is essential to remember that it's fine jewelry. So if you do not want your ring to bend, scratch or gouge, it should be treated with some care for it to last. Any metal or stone harder than it can scratch or gouge it. Remove your ring before doing heavy work (like moving furniture or rock climbing), and always store it in a safe spot where you won't lose it. See this blog post about taking your ring off.

Additionally, be aware that chlorine, especially at high temperatures, can erode gold jewelry. Do not wear gold jewelry while using chlorine bleach or while in a pool or hot tub.

Typically commercial white gold rings have been rhodium plated or "dipped". Plating is just a thin coating of another metal on the base metal's surface, and like finishes, they will wear away over time. If your ring has rhodium plating, it will need to be re-plated once a year to maintain the look. We do not plate our jewelry; however, some components that we don't make (such as chain) may be rhodium plated. 

Rings can be refinished from time to time, which will remove many scratches, gouges, and scuff marks. However, every time it's refinished, it removes a little bit of metal, making the ring thinner over time, so we don't recommend doing it very often. 

If you want to learn more, please visit our website bronze hairline stainless steel.

Top to bottom, left to right: Skylight | Knob in Elusive Golden Nickel, Skylight | Knob in Brushed Golden Brass, Belwith Keeler Sandrine | Knob in Champagne Bronze, Willow |...

Choosing the right finish on hardware for your space can be overwhelming with the wide array of choices we have available. With this educational blog series, I&#;m setting out to cover our bestselling Hickory Hardware finishes while explaining the differences so you can make a more informed decision. We always encourage our customers to take advantage of our Sample Program to try before you buy!

A fair disclaimer: finishes can vary widely by brand, manufacturer, and supplier. These blog posts will strictly be focusing on Hickory Hardware finishes and their respective names.

Today we&#;ll be sharing our most popular gold finishes. For more info on silver finishes, check out this post. 

Polished Brass

Popular in the 90s and early s, Polished Brass is a bright, cool-toned gold finish with mirror-like reflectivity and lack of a brush pattern. The finish color is similar to our Royal Brass and Flat Ultra Brass finishes but the mirror-like reflection lends it a completely different look.

This finish is still a huge contender within hardware designs that lean transitional to traditional. My favorites include the oval drop knobs from the Williamsburg collection and the matching cup pulls. Can you imagine how elegant these would look on bold cabinet colors like green and navy? Another great set of hardware that features a lot of Polished Brass that ties in with the Cottagecore trend is the Conquest collection.

Royal Brass

Royal Brass is a light brassy color with a visible brush pattern and a satin sheen. Similar in color to Polished Brass and Flat Ultra Brass but without the mirror-like finish. It is a lot more matte when compared to Polished Brass. Our popular Bar Pulls collection is available in Royal Brass and would look great over modern bright white and deep gray cabinets.

Flat Ultra Brass

Flat Ultra Brass is similar to the Royal Brass gold color but is a touch darker and warmer with an even matte finish and no brush marks. Collections that come in this finish include Willow, for those looking for something unique and organic, Crest and Velocity for those into modern and contemporary designs. The touch of warmth coordinates well with medium to deep brown woods and would work equally wonderfully over white and other blonde to light colored wood tones. Gray would also complement this finish.

Brushed Golden Brass

Brushed Golden Brass is what we at Hickory Hardware would dub the contemporary gold of today&#;s era (and my personal favorite). As the name implies, Brushed Golden Brass is a modern classy gold with a brushed satin finish. 

It&#;s a warm gold with a slight reddish-brown undertone. The brushed pattern helps to hide fingerprints and scratches, a plus for busy high traffic areas like kitchens and baths. This is the classic gold I think of when it comes to pairing with Mid Century Modern and glam designs. It&#;s the kind of gold that will complement walnut furniture and other similarly neutral to warm-toned woods really well. Brushed Golden Brass looks equally stunning over bold cabinet colors. My favorite collections that come in this finish include many of our newly released and tried and true collections including Veranda, Piper, Maven, Woodward, Skylight and Studio.

Elusive Golden Nickel

Aptly named, Elusive Golden Nickel is a bit tricky to describe. It&#;s the most cool-toned gold of the bunch. If you find Brushed Golden Brass too warm to complement your interior colors but still want something with a touch of warmth and gold, Elusive Golden Nickel may be your answer.

Elusive Golden Nickel is essentially the Satin Nickel finish described in this post with a layer of gold tinting. The result is a champagne-like color, similar to our sister brand&#;s Belwith Keeler&#;s Champagne Bronze, but cooler. It&#;s gold, yet muted.

This finish acts like a chameleon unifier to complement and tie together a wide range of cabinet and interior colors. Elusive Golden Nickel can work in trickier spaces and surfaces that traverse the line between cool and warm to neutral. Elusive Golden Nickel works great over muted wood tones like birch and muted gray-based painted cabinet colors like beige, taupe, gray or a gray-sage green. Our top collections Skylight and Twist are available in this unique finish.

That&#;s it for our top gold finishes! To recap:

• Polished Brass is a highly reflective cool toned gold.

  is a highly reflective cool toned gold.

• Royal Brass is a cool toned light brassy color with brush pattern and a satin sheen.

  is a cool toned light brassy color with brush pattern and a satin sheen.

• Flat Ultra Brass is a matte, cool even brass color without brushing.

  is a matte, cool even brass color without brushing.

• Brushed Golden Brass is a warm gold with a brushed satin finish.

  is a warm gold with a brushed satin finish.

• Elusive Golden Nickel is a cool toned muted champagne color with brushing.

  is a cool toned muted champagne color with brushing.

To learn more, check out our other posts by finish color families:

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