When I think stainless steel, I instantly envision a burly man clad in a wielding mask, not dainty and refined jewelry. The designers behind Mia have taken advantage of the material’s tough reputation to increase the longevity of its pieces and decrease the costs. To compare, popular jewelry brand Mejuri’s fine (diamond-less) pieces range from $78 to $600. As for skin sensitivity, the retailer specifically works with surgical, nickel-free, lead-free, and cadmium-free stainless steel to prevent allergic reactions. For the silver-colored pieces, that’s it. Rose gold and gold pieces are then plated, which might make you ask, who cares about the base material’s hypoallergenic attributes? Don’t worry; the plating is also hypoallergenic and durable, though not guaranteed to be waterproof. Once again, according to its site, Mia’s “plating vapor deposit” process ditches both chemicals and pollution. For the science-obsessed, this means that “solid material is vaporized in a vacuum and deposited onto the surface of a part,” atom by atom which “improves the appearance, durability, and/or function of a part or product.” I’d like to thank this article at VaporTech for the digestible low down.