When I bought this belt last May I bought it on purpose because the description said the buckle was nickel free. The listing has since been amended to remove what appears to be a false nickel-free claim, but there are still some reviews that uncritically repeat the claim originally advertised. As a result, this belt still appears in the search results under "nickel-free belt". The buckle is actually standard nickel alloy coated with a thin layer of some type of plastic that within about 6 months will begin to chip away exposing the nickel alloy and looking pretty awful. I've had a buckle rash for about a month now and since I was sure I had a nickel free buckle I was trying to figure out if it was the metal buttons on my pants or what you have. It turns out it's a belt buckle; Haven't looked closely enough to see the metal being exposed from the peeling plating, but here it is. The seller lied to sell more belts and didn't care about any negative impact his customers might have. At least when I came back to complain I saw that they also changed the list after everyone started calling it false advertising, but I don't give them points for only being more honest after they get caught became.