Gold vermeil is a jewelers’ technique of coating sterling silver with high-purity gold.
The gold layer is relatively thick (at least 2.5 microns). By comparison, flash plating uses a gold layer of less than 0.175 microns, and traditional gold plating usually hovers around the 0.5 microns mark.
And purity must be at least 10 karats.
(These are Federal Trade Commission standards. Gold vermeil sold in other countries may have lower quality requirements.)
Mejuri is a DTC jewelry startup. The specialist jeweler only sells four metal types — one of which is gold vermeil.
Growth quadrupled each of their first 4 years. And estimated annual revenue is now $64.1M.
What's next:
Gold vermeil is part of the “budget luxury” meta trend.
The market for bona fide luxury goods, defined as products at the highest end of the relevant market, decreased significantly since the pandemic (from $340.6B to $263B).
Meanwhile, the market for products with the same luxury feel at cheaper prices has come to the forefront.
Despite half of 18 to 23 year olds reporting that they or someone in their household lost a job during the pandemic, Gen Z has become the most resilient consumer group in the luxury market. Which is why brands in the budget luxury space are taking off.
Staud, a luxury fashion startup, has sale items at prices as low as $42.
Since then, celebrities like Kendall Jenner and Meghan Markle have been pictured wearing Staud.
Other budget luxury brands picking up steam include
Bluebella (lingerie),
Arc’Teryx (functional fashion), and
Tudor Watches (timepieces — the most expensive are roughly on par with the cheapest Rolex).