If you want gold, look for gold-plated or gold-filled jewelry findings. It’s basically a core of a base metal like brass, steel, or nickel, and then it undergoes an electroplating process that puts a few microns of gold molecules all over the surface. It basically looks like gold, but for wayyy cheaper. If you wear it a lot then the surface will start to fade through in a few years. Gold-filled has a thicker layer of gold than gold-plated and should last a lot longer.

Oh and also, silver isn’t very expensive as far as precious metals go. So if you want coins, you can build a larger horde with silver. Or even solid sterling silver jewelry. It looks nice but it doesn’t cost out the ass like solid gold.

And jewelry findings are cheaper than finished products because they’re basically in an incomplete form, they’re technically a craft supply. So if you want to try your hand with prong-setting, knock yourself out. Start with semi-precious stones and a base metal like brass or bronze and get some practice before trying to set lab-grown sapphires in solid sterling.

Pewter, brass, bronze, and copper can be nice too, although they’re considered base metals. So they’re the cheapest options. It all depends on what you have an eye for. They come with various finishes (usually polished, brushed, or antiqued), but you can also polish them yourself, or use tarnishing solutions if you prefer them with a patina.

And then of course there’s steel. Usually in a jewelry context you’ll see either stainless steel, blackened steel, gunmetal, or rhodium-plated. Surgical stainless steel is the most hypoallergenic, so it’s best for piercings. The others mostly just depend on your color preference.

You can get whole spools of chains, or buy them by the foot, and get matching jump rings and clasps/toggles, and start making your own necklace chains with just a couple pairs of pliers (chain-nosed and round-nosed, both smooth-jawed, will get you a long way. You can even get a pair that’s made specifically for closing jump rings, or one for closing prong settings, but it’s entirely possible to make do without those.), and some flush-cutters or wire-snips.

Then you just need to add a pendant or a charm, which you can either make yourself or buy as a finding. The possibilities are endless!

Oh and lastly, beading has a lower cost of entry, and if you use glass beads they can be pretty mesmerizing in their own right. Heck, even plastic beads can be a fun option if your budget is approximately zero (but once you try glass beads then plastic will feel like drawing with crayons).

You can string your beads on nylon, silk, linen, cotton, or polyester thread. Or use beading chain (usually ≤0.5mm) and some end crimps. A beading needle makes the process much easier/faster/more enjoyable.