Naked conductors are uninsulated 24AWG solid core copper. These copper conductors have been plated with a thick layer of palladium followed by a thick layer of gold to protect against corrosion. The use of palladium as an intermetallic diffusion barrier opposed to nickel prevents distortions that would be introduced via the magnetic properties of nickel.
While it is possible to plate gold directly over copper the two metals will diffuse into one another forming alloy components. These alloy components have very poor conductivity.
Naked accomplishes the same goals as a traditional insulated conductor.
Cotton possesses excellent dielectric properties in respect to signal fidelity. This parameter is commonly referred to as the dielectric constant. Cotton has a value of 1.3 (1 is the ideal) 2-5 are the common values for most insulating polymers. For example Fluorocarbon has a value of 2.1 and Polyethylene a value of 2.25.