Jewellery Materials

With the variety of material, shades and sizes available in body jewellery, ensure you have the correct one for your piercing using the handy guides below. For any other queries, please contact us. 

18ct Solid Yellow Gold is the highest grade, most radiant, and brightest of all the solid gold jewellery we sell.  It is hypoallergenic and therefore suitable for use professionally as an implant jewellery for fresh piercings.  The hallmark on each piece will be shown as 18K. It has a composition is 75% pure gold, 15% silver and 10% copper.  It is also available in 18ct white gold through alloying pure gold with palladium (75% gold, 25% palladium).  To create 18ct rose gold, pure gold is alloyed with copper (75% gold, 22.2% copper, 2.2% silver).

14ct Solid Yellow Gold is the second highest grade of all the solid gold jewellery we sell.  Like 18ct, 14ct is also hypoallergenic and therefore suitable for use professionally as an implant jewellery for fresh piercings.  The hallmark on each piece will be shown as 14K. Its composition is 58.3% gold, 30% silver and 11.70%.  It is also available in 14ct white gold through alloying pure gold with silver metals such as palladium or silver (75% gold, 32.2% silver, 9.5% palladium).  To create 14ct rose gold, pure gold is alloyed with copper (58.3% gold, 32.5% copper, 9.2% silver).

9ct Solid Yellow Gold is our most affordable gold body jewellery.  It is durable and beautiful for wear in healed piercings only.  The hallmark on each piece will be shown as 9K. Its composition is 37.5% gold, 42.5% silver and 20% copper.  It is also available in 9ct white gold through alloying pure gold with silver (37.5% gold, 62.5% silver).  To create 9ct rose gold, pure gold is alloyed with copper (37.5% gold, 20% silver, 42.5% copper).

Surgical Stainless Steel 316L is still the original body piercing jewellery and favoured by those seeking a silver-like colour match. Surgical steel is non-corrosive, hard-wearing and scratch resistant and offers a wide choice in product design. It is safe to be worn in healed piercings only.  Steel can also be anodised.  See our Metal Colour Chart. 

Titanium 6Al-4VEli ASTM:F-136 is used for surgical implants and is safe enough to be used for body piercing. It is bio compatible (non-toxic) and suitable for those with a nickel allergy. It is three times stronger than steel and it's incredible light weight makes it ideal for piercings susceptible to migration or rejection. Highly polished titanium is a shade darker than surgical steel but through the process of electroplating, can be anodised into different colours whilst retaining it's safe properties. See Metal Colour Chart.

PVD (Physical Vapour Deposition) is a biocompatible coating applied to titanium or surgical steel to create a more individual and contrasting style of body jewellery. The costing can be gold, rose gold or black and make a very realistic and affordable copy whilst retaining the properties of titanium or steel.

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Bioplast is similar to bioflex and inert in nature. It is suitable for use in initial body piercing, particularly for those with a sensitivity to metals. It is flexible and comfortable in piercings susceptible to movement and unlike metal, will not conduct heat. It's transparency can conveniently reduce the appearance or even hide a piercing. Flexi clear is similar product but is not suitable for initial piercings - it cannot withstand the high temperatures of autoclave sterilisation.

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Acrylic is also known as Polymethyl Methacrylate (PMMA) is the most inexpensive and diverse material used in body jewellery with it's wide range of opaque and transparent colours. It is lightweight and very comfortable to wear.
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Wood, Bone & Horn are naturally organic materials - each piece is unique. Some variation may occur in the pattern and sometimes size (0.5mm) due to hand carving. The bone and horn are from Asian water buffalo and sourced as a by-product of the meat industry. The coconut palm wood is ecologically-friendly and the Indonesian teak is sustainably sourced. Organic products are popular for stretched piercings as they absorb sweat and odour. Monthly maintenance is necessary to prolong their life - wash with soap and water, dry and coat with jojoba or grape seed oil. Extreme temperatures and water may cause these products to crack or warp.

Semi-precious Gemstones have the power to heal and stabilise moods; each one has different properties. Some gems are also birthstones and make a great present if you need some extra inspiration. They are solid and cold in nature and likely to chip or scratch if dropped.

Sterling Silver 925 is the most beautiful alloy used in body jewellery with it's light reflection. It is also the softest metal and easy enough to twist or shape into a size suitable for your piercing. Nose screws are the perfect example of this. Silver is suitable for healed piercings only.

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All metal jewellery available through Isha Body Jewellery, has been assessed for quality and holds a Certificate of Conformity from the Sheffield Assay Office. This complies with the legislation under the EU Nickel Directive 2004/96/EC.