Don't get me wrong this belt is a lifesaver as I'm allergic to nickel. I was disappointed with the price of nickel free belts and often cheaper ones don't actually contain nickel but are simply coated with some sort of transparent coating that wears off over time. Same thing happened with this belt but the good news is that it definitely doesn't contain nickel but the silver appearance of the buckle disappeared after 3 months and it turned out that the true color is actually more like brass. It still works great as a belt, but you should be aware that wearing it every day will cause this change.