Brilliance with Custom Platings

A Guide to Choosing the Right Plating for Your Metal Products

The plating you choose for your custom product — whether a lapel pin, challenge coin, or keychain — plays a huge role in the final look and feel. Beyond personal preference, here are practical considerations to keep in mind:

Designs with Color:

• Soft enamel works beautifully with any plating (antiqued, polished, matte).
• Hard enamel pairs best with polished or matte platings for a clean, flush finish.

Designs without Color:

• Antiqued platings highlight raised and recessed areas, creating a rich contrast.
• Polished platings can also be used, but recessed areas often receive a subtle sandblast texture to maintain contrast and keep details visible.

Whether you’re seeking a bright, clean, polished finish or a rich, antiqued look, the right plating can elevate your design and ensure it communicates exactly what you desire.

About Gold

For decades, genuine gold plating has been prized for its unmistakable color, richness, and resistance to tarnishing. However, due to rising costs, genuine gold is now offered only by request. It remains an option for projects that demand the prestige of authentic gold — but in most cases, customers choose one of the following alternatives:

Gold-Tone Plating
Our most popular option for “golden look” products. Gold-tone plating provides the same bright, gold appearance at a more accessible price point. The primary difference is that, unlike genuine gold, gold-tone can gradually tarnish over time, depending on storage and handling. That said, it delivers an excellent gold plating for most applications.

Brass Plating
Brass is another strong alternative to gold. It naturally has a slightly more “brassy” cast when compared side by side with genuine gold, but to most people the difference is negligible and only becomes noticeable in a side-by-side comparison. It’s durable, cost-effective, classic, and looks excellent on products like lapel pins, keychains, zipper pulls, and more.

Bronze Plating
When antiqued, bronze arguably takes on a deeper, richer tone than even genuine gold — making it a favorite for designs where warmth and contrast are key. Its antique finish pairs beautifully with detailed artwork, giving products a timeless, heirloom quality.

About Silver

As with gold, the term “silver” is often used loosely in the industry. At PromotionalKeychains.biz, when we say silver, we mean genuine silver plating — though, in most cases, alternatives like nickel achieve the same look at a lower cost and feature better durability.

Genuine Silver
Antiqued Silver: Slightly brighter and crisper than antiqued nickel, making fine details pop.

Polished Silver: Authentic but soft; scratches easily. For this reason, we rarely recommend polished silver for high-use items like coins or keychains.

Nickel Plating (Most Popular)
Nickel is the most widely used alternative to silver, and, is used far more than silver. Highly polished nickel delivers a bright, mirror-like “silver” look that is exceptionally durable yet affordable.

Antiqued nickel provides a slightly deeper and warmer tone than antiqued silver, but still creates excellent contrast between raised and recessed areas.

Between polished nickel and antiqued nickel, nearly all "silver-tone" effects are achieved without the drawbacks of genuine silver plating.

Antiqued, Polished, Matte & Two-Tone Options

Every plating option — whether gold, nickel, silver, bronze, or brass — is available in different finishes to match your design:

• Polished: A mirror-like, reflective surface for clean, modern designs.
• Matte: A softer, understated surface with reduced shine.
• Polished and Matte: Raised areas are highly polished, with recessed areas having a matte / sandblast effect for elegant contrast.
  Antiqued: Adds depth and contrast, highlighting details with a timeless, classic appearance.
• Two-Tone: Combines two platings (such as gold and nickel) for a distinctive, eye-catching effect.

Products We Plate

Plating options are available across our full line of custom manufactured products:

• Lapel Pins
• Challenge Coins
• Keychains
• Belt Buckles
• Zipper Pulls
• Dog Tags
• Bottle Openers
• Medals
• Plates & Medallions

Ready to Create Your Design?

The right plating can completely transform your design. Whether you want the brilliance of polished nickel, the timeless richness of antiqued bronze, or the versatility of gold-tone, our team is here to help you choose the plating that fits your project best.

Call us at (877) 848-4044, or use our contact form to get started. You can also submit a free preview request on any product page — we’ll prepare a proof and quote so you can see your design in your chosen plating before you order.

At PromotionalKeychains.biz, every plating is backed by our craftsmanship, attention to detail, and commitment to making your custom product stand out.