Gold here works in a set order. You choose the piece. Then I find the spot on your ear for that piece. Then it's pierced in gold, on the day, with the piece in the price. It sounds like a small thing. It changes how the whole piercing turns out.
A common order, and why we don't follow it
A common approach to gold is to pierce in a plain starter stud, then sell the gold piece once the piercing has healed, months later. In practice it means you pay for a piercing with jewellery you didn't really want, then pay again for the piece you did, and wait months in between.
The bigger problem, for me, is the spot. In that order the spot is chosen for a plain stud. The gold comes later and has to fit a hole that was never placed for it. A small round end will sit happily in a lot of places. A cluster, a fan or a marquise is less forgiving, and a piece you love can end up sitting at a slightly wrong angle, for good.
Why the piece decides the spot
Every piece has a shape, and every ear has its own folds, ridges and flat areas. Where a piece sits well depends on both.
- A single stone in a small setting needs a clean, flat area and the right distance from the edge.
- A cluster or a fan has a top and a bottom. It wants a spot where it can sit flush and follow the line of your ear, not fight it.
- Stones stepped along the rim suit a forward helix. Larger, more sculptural pieces want the room a conch gives them.
- A ring sits well in a daith or septum, and the spot is set so the ring hangs the way it should.
Once you've chosen the piece, I hold it up to your ear, find where it sits well, and mark it. You check it in the mirror, and we move the mark until you're happy. Nothing happens until you say yes. Then the piercing goes in with your piece in it, so the first thing in that hole is the gold you chose.
Every spot, what it costs and what tends to suit it is on the placements page.
Choosing the piece
At the table, on the day
When you sit down for a piercing, the first thing we ask is what you'd like to spend, and that's what comes out on the tray. Titanium is on it too, so you see both against your own ear. You don't need to arrive with your mind made up.
In a Gold Viewing, before you book a needle
If you'd rather take your time, the Gold Viewing is thirty minutes at the case with Tom or Kat. No needle, nothing to buy, and no charge. Come to see the one piece you saved, or to find out what suits you. If you find the one, the piercing can go in that day when there's time, or on another day.
You can also look at the case online before you come. Every price on it is what that piece costs in your ear, piercing included, from $350 to $1,730.
If it isn't in the case
Every BVLA design can be made to order in another stone or gold, in Los Angeles, in about six weeks. That's BVLA Bespoke. It's priced before anything is ordered, and when it lands, you're pierced with it.
Pierced in gold, in the price
The jewellery is solid 14k gold, yellow or white, made by BVLA in Los Angeles. BVLA is certified by the Responsible Jewellery Council for how it makes its jewellery.
A gold piercing costs the piece plus $40, and never less than $350. That one number covers the piercing, the piece and your checkup at about four weeks. A daith or septum in a gold ring is from $500. You know the price before anything happens, and you pay at the end. There's nothing to pay when you book.
If you'd like something other than 14k, solid 18k gold is $40 more and platinum is $100 more, both made to order by BVLA. We don't offer 18k white gold.
What that means in practice
- The spot suits the piece. It was marked for the gold you're wearing, not for a stud that came out months ago.
- No second fitting. The piece you leave with is the piece you chose. There isn't a later appointment to swap a starter stud for the jewellery you actually wanted.
- Nothing to wait for. You wear the gold from the day you're pierced, through the whole heal.
The checkup still happens. Your first post goes in a little long to allow for swelling, and at about four weeks we shorten it if it's ready. Your gold end goes back on the shorter post. That's a better fit for the same piece, not a change of jewellery.
When titanium first is the better plan
Gold isn't right for everyone on the day, and I'll tell you honestly when I think titanium is the one:
- Budget. Implant-grade titanium (ASTM F136) is $150 with the piercing, jewellery and checkup included. If spending more would make the day stressful, titanium is the right call.
- You haven't found the one. If nothing on the tray feels like yours, don't choose gold for the sake of it.
- Your skin is sensitive. If jewellery has bothered your skin before, start in titanium and tell us when you book.
Titanium isn't a lesser option, and the aftercare is the same for both. Gold can still go in later: at the checkup at about four weeks, if the post is ready to shorten, a gold end can go on then. Because we pierced you, it's priced on the piece alone, with no charge for fitting it.
I'll be straight about the trade. Done that way, it costs more overall than gold on the day: the $150 piercing, then the piece. And the spot was marked for your ear and a titanium end, not for one particular gold piece. With a small end that makes little difference. With a shaped piece it can. That's why, if you already know you want gold, I'd put it in on the day.
| Gold on the day | Titanium, then gold at the checkup | |
|---|---|---|
| What's chosen first | The piece, then the spot for it | The spot |
| What you pay | The piece plus $40, from $350 | $150, then the piece |
| When you wear gold | From the day you're pierced | From the checkup, if it's ready |
| Good if | You know the piece you want | Budget, skin, or the piece isn't found yet |
For a fuller look at the two metals, how 14k and 18k differ, and why plated or filled gold never goes in a fresh piercing, read gold or titanium for a new piercing.
Gold piercing in Parnell
We're at 389 Parnell Road, Parnell, Auckland, by appointment, seven days. Tom pierces Wednesday to Sunday and Kat Sunday to Tuesday. A piercing is booked for forty-five minutes, one client in the room at a time, so there's room to hold pieces up, mark, move the mark and look again. That's the idea behind all of it: the right spot, a piece you love, and all the time it takes.
Book the piercing if you're ready, or book a Gold Viewing to see the gold first. Every price is on the prices page. Questions? Call 09 949 0940.
Questions
Can you get pierced with gold?
Yes. At Platinum Point in Parnell, Auckland, a new piercing can be done in solid 14k gold made by BVLA. You choose the piece first, the spot is found for it on your ear, and it goes in at the piercing, not months later. It costs the piece plus $40, from $350, with the piercing included.
Why choose the piece before the spot?
Because a piece's shape decides where it sits well. A single stone, a cluster and a ring all sit differently on an ear. Choosing the piece first means the spot is marked for that piece, with you checking it in the mirror, instead of a piece fitted later into a spot chosen for a plain stud.
Is solid gold OK for a new piercing?
Solid 14k gold made for body jewellery is one of the two metals we put in a fresh piercing; the other is implant-grade titanium (ASTM F136). Plated or filled gold is never used in a new piercing. If jewellery has bothered your skin before, start in titanium and tell us when you book.
How much is a gold piercing in Auckland?
At Platinum Point a gold piercing is the piece plus $40, never under $350, and the case runs from $350 to $1,730 pierced. A daith or septum in a gold ring is from $500. The checkup at about four weeks is included, and you pay at the end with nothing to pay when you book.
Can I start in titanium and change to gold later?
Yes. Titanium is $150 with the piercing. At the checkup about four weeks later, if the post is ready to shorten, a gold end can go on. If we pierced you, it's priced on the piece alone, with no charge for fitting it. Overall it costs more than gold on the day.
Can I see the gold before I book a piercing?
Yes. A Gold Viewing is thirty minutes at the case with Tom or Kat at 389 Parnell Road, with no needle, nothing to buy and no charge. Book at platinumpoint.nz/gold-viewing or call 09 949 0940.
What if the piece I want isn't in the case?
Every BVLA design can be made to order in another stone or gold, in about six weeks, through BVLA Bespoke. It's priced before anything is ordered, and when it arrives you're pierced with it.