pot of gold

When I first started making jewelry I was so confused about which material to choose for gold: gold filled, gold vermeil, gold plated...the list goes on. Here are brief descriptions of the top three alternatives to karated gold to help you make your purchasing decisions. Gold Plated: A non precious metal base is plated electrochemically with a thin layer of gold. There is no legal regulation as to how much gold must be used in plating but generally has 7-10mils of gold. Gold Vermeil: Plated using the same technique as gold plated jewelry but with a base of sterling silver. Again, no legal regulation to how much gold must be used in plating. Gold Filled: Gold is bonded to the surface of a non precious metal using heat and pressure. The gold must be at least 10K and must be 5% of its total weight (100x that of gold plating) Gold plating generally wears off quickly and exposes the metal underneath the gold, partially because there is no regulation as to how much gold must be included in plating so often there is very little covering the metal. People with sensitive skin often do not react well to this kind and you are suppose to avoid getting it wet etc. Gold vermeil tends to wear better, but will still wear down over time, and often quickly. Gold filled, on the other hand, wears very well over time and should not rub off or expose the metal underneath due to the bonding process it undergoes as well as the higher concentration of karated gold. I choose gold filled chain for all my jewelry. I just wouldn't feel right selling someone something that could expose a dark metal in a week's time. Gold filled is more expensive, but I'd rather pay slightly more for something that will last me as opposed to something that won't be wearable shortly after I purchase it. I look at jewelry as an investment and as one that should last forever so if you can't get karated gold, I definitely believe gold filled is the way to go.

There are also new technologies that are introducing different types beyond these three that I may test out in the future such as gold overlay which is similar to gold plating but uses 30-40mils and supposedly wears well over time. source