Solid metals with good corrosion resistance handle water without complaint. S316L Surgical Steel, titanium and platinum all do. Anything plated is a different question, because water doesn't damage the metal so much as accelerate the wear of the coating, and once a coating goes the metal underneath is what's in contact. The materials that genuinely suffer are sterling silver, low karat gold, brass and anything glued rather than set. Our materials page explains what we use and how it behaves.
Water on its own is rarely the problem. What's dissolved in it usually is.
What water actually does
Chlorine attacks the alloy, not the metal. Pool water is a chloride environment, and chlorides are specifically aggressive towards the passive oxide layer that protects stainless steel. That layer repairs itself in air, which is why rinsing and drying matters more than avoiding the pool.
Salt water does the same thing more slowly. Sea water is a milder chloride solution than a chlorinated pool but you're usually in it longer.
Hot water and soap strip and swell. Shower products leave a film, and that film holds moisture against the skin and the metal. On a plated item, the combination of heat, friction and surfactant does more damage than the water alone.
Hard water leaves minerals behind. Not damaging to the metal, but the deposit dulls a finish and traps residue at the back of the setting.
The comparison
| Material | Daily shower | Swimming pool | Sea water | What actually happens |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| S316L Surgical Steel | Fine | Fine | Fine | Corrosion resistant. Rinse and dry to avoid deposits |
| Titanium, F136 or F67 | Fine | Fine | Fine | Extremely stable. Nothing to release |
| Platinum | Fine | Fine | Fine | Very unreactive, and very expensive |
| 24 karat gold surface | Fine | Fine, rinse after | Fine, rinse after | Gold is inert. It's the coating's wear you're managing, not corrosion |
| Sterling silver | Tarnishes | Tarnishes faster | Tarnishes faster | Reacts with sulfur compounds. Chlorine accelerates it |
| 14 or 18 karat gold | Usually fine | Dulls over time | Dulls over time | The alloy content is what reacts, not the gold |
| Gold plated base metal | Wears | Wears faster | Wears faster | Coating thins, base metal contacts skin |
| Brass or nickel silver | Poor | Poor | Poor | Corrodes and stains skin green |
| Glued stones or pearls | Poor | Poor | Poor | Adhesive fails long before the metal does |
The part people get wrong
Most advice on this treats the metal as the fragile thing. For a solid metal that's rarely true. Steel and titanium survive a childhood of swimming without any meaningful change.
The fragile things are coatings and adhesives.
A plated earring has a finite coating. Every wear event removes a little, and water plus friction plus soap removes it faster. The coating usually goes first at the post and at the butterfly back, where friction concentrates. The front looks unchanged, which is why parents are so often surprised by a reaction from a pair that looks perfect.
Glue is the weakest component in most children's jewelry. Stones that are glued rather than set in a claw or bezel loosen with repeated wetting and drying. A loose stone in a child's ear is a different kind of problem from a metal one.
Which is why "waterproof" is a claim to distrust. It usually describes the metal, and the metal was never the issue.
A sensible routine
Rinse after any pool or sea water. Fresh water for a few seconds is enough. It's removing the chloride, not cleaning the earring.
Dry properly. A soft cloth, and behind the ear too. Moisture trapped between a butterfly back and the lobe is the part that causes trouble.
Wash weekly with mild soap and water. Not alcohol, not peroxide, not an ultrasonic cleaner on anything with a glued stone.
Jewelry on last, off first. After sunscreen, perfume, hairspray and lotion have all gone on. Before a shower, if she'll remember to put them back.
Mind the goggles and the swim cap. Both drag across the lobe every time they go on and come off, and that friction does more to a plated finish in one swimming lesson than an hour in the water does. If she swims regularly, a solid metal earns its keep for this reason rather than for anything to do with corrosion.
Check the post every few months. A change in color or shade at the post means a coating is wearing through, and that's the earliest warning you'll get.
What we do
Both of our materials are built for water rather than protected from it.
S316L Surgical Steel, used throughout the Polished Surgical Steel range, one alloy front, post and butterfly back. The molybdenum in 316L is specifically there to improve resistance to chlorides, which is what pool water and sweat both contain. There's no coating on it, so there's nothing for water to wear through.
24K Pure Gold, which is pure 24 karat gold applied onto a solid S316L Surgical Steel core with Aunix™ 24K, our engineered gold finish. Gold is chemically inert, so it doesn't corrode in chlorinated or salt water. It's still a gold-plating process and we say so, which means it's a surface with a finite life, and rinsing after swimming is how you extend it. If it does eventually wear at the post, what's underneath is the same S316L we sell on its own.
We don't use glued stones. Our crystals are claw or bezel set, because adhesive is the component that fails first in water.
Independently tested by SGS to ASTM F2923, CPSIA and BSEN 71-3, with nickel release not detected under EN 1811. Report BTO 341803/1, and you can ask me for it.
You can see the range on the Polished Surgical Steel collection.
The easiest pair to keep clean is the one with the fewest places for anything to gather, which is why we make the 4mm Flawless Crystal Stud Earrings in Surgical Steel.
Questions parents ask next
Can she swim in her earrings? In ours, yes. S316L resists corrosion in chlorinated and salt water and 24 karat gold is chemically inert in the same conditions. Rinse and dry afterwards.
Does chlorine damage gold? Not pure gold. It attacks the alloy metals in lower karat gold, which is why 14 karat dulls in a pool and 24 karat doesn't.
Should she take them out for a bath? She doesn't have to. Getting into the habit of rinsing and drying afterwards matters more than removal.
What about a hot tub? Higher temperature and higher chlorine concentration than a pool, so it's the harshest common case. Fine for solid metal, hard on anything plated or glued.
Are silicone or plastic retainers better for swimming? They avoid metal entirely, which suits a specific situation like a school swim requirement. They're porous and meant for short term use rather than daily wear.
Related reading
- Can she wear her earrings in the shower or pool?
- Do gold earrings tarnish?
- How long does gold plating last on earrings?
- What earrings can she wear every day?
About the author. Matt Westmore is the founder of purepixxi. He came to children's jewelry from manufacturing and sourcing rather than marketing, which means he has walked the factory floors and knows what is actually inside a product rather than what a label says about it. purepixxi uses two materials only, names them exactly, and has them independently tested.
