Mejuri Review: Gold Vermeil vs. 14k Gold Jewelry
Chances are, you've already heard of the fine jewelry brand Mejuri. They're everywhere on social media, and you might have seen their ads around town urging you to buy their fine jewelry "for your damn self." Clever marketing strategy aside, I appreciated their dainty, minimalist designs, and I visited their Toronto store to check out their pieces in person.
Mejuri is a direct-to-consumer brand, which means there is no middleman markup. A few pieces caught my eye, so I placed an online order because what I wanted wasn't in stock in the store.
Although Mejuri has more stores in the US, they are actually a Canadian-based company. For Canadians who are wondering, the orders ship from within Canada so they won't incur any cross-border custom fees.
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Mejuri Gold Vermeil Jewelry I Purchased
My first order was for the Tarot Star Necklace and the Twin Necklace. They're both made from gold vermeil, which is why they are relatively affordable.
Each item came in a gift-friendly cardboard box, complete with a black branded travel pouch and care instructions inside. The boxes came in a big white drawstring bag, also branded with their logo.
After wearing my gold vermeil pieces for a few months, I decided that I would rather invest in real gold going forward. Recently, I purchased the 14k yellow gold Croissant Dôme Ring, which I chose over their gold vermeil version. Read on to learn why I stopped buying gold vermeil jewelry.
Mejuri's Gold Vermeil vs. 14k Gold Jewelry
Mejuri's gold vermeil is made from a thick layer of 18k solid gold on sterling silver. It has a much thicker layer of gold than regular gold plating. Vermeil still tarnishes, so the pieces need to stay away from sweat and water.
After wearing the necklaces on my bare skin last summer, both pieces quickly began to oxidize. My Mejuri customer service rep recommended that I buff them with the black pouch that came in the box. It worked to a certain degree, but my Twin necklace was still in pretty bad shape, and they offered to replace it with another one, which came in the mail pretty quickly. I have to say, Mejuri's customer service is excellent. Their jewelry has two-year warranties. The reps are prompt with emailing back, and they will find a solution for your issue.
Recently, I took out the Tarot necklace after not wearing it for months and noticed that the oxidization got worse. It wouldn't buff away. I did a little Googling and read that toothpaste is a good jewelry cleaner in general. I don't know the science behind this, but it worked!
What I did was squeeze some toothpaste on the surface I wanted to clean, let it sit for a minute, then scrubbed it with an old toothbrush.
I am a little concerned that if I keep scrubbing the necklace this way, I'll eventually wear off the gold plating. Both necklaces are very cute and layerable, but I decided that gold vermeil is too high maintenance for me.
Even the chain turns darker after a while. The dark patches didn't go away even after I tried the toothpaste trick.
Conversely, I'm very happy with my new 14k yellow gold Croissant Dôme Ring, which is a great statement piece. Even though it cost way more than their gold vermeil version, I don't have to worry about oxidization when I wash my hands or put on hand cream.
Conclusion
If you have a limited budget, don't mind being extra careful with your jewelry, and don't plan on wearing them all the time, then gold vermeil jewelry would be fine to buy.
I would avoid gold vermeil for pieces you'd wear often, which is a shame because Mejuri has a lot of chic and timeless designs only available in vermeil, such as their Dome Hoops. But I simply don't want to worry about accidentally exposing them to water, sweat, skin creams, and sunscreen. From my experience, they definitely tarnish.
So whenever possible, invest in real gold. I'm currently considering other 14k gold pieces from Mejuri, such as their single studs. To see all their 14k gold jewelry, filter by metals.
Megan
wrote:Hello! I just wanted to say this is one of the best ever reviews I’ve read online!! It was so informative and helpful. I appreciate you took the time to write something so thorough. So impressed 🙂