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How Much Is Gold Plated Jewelry Worth – As editors of the Jewelry Shopping Guide, we write about things we love and think you’ll love, too. We often have affiliate partnerships and may generate some revenue from these links at no cost to you.
Gold plated jewelry offers a budget-friendly option to purchasing pure gold jewelry. It gives you the look and style without the high price tag that comes with gold, and is ideal for jewelry you don’t plan on wearing every day.
How Much Is Gold Plated Jewelry Worth
Gilding comes in varying levels of quality, largely depending on the thickness and purity of the gold coating, the base metal used for the piece, and the quality of the craftsmanship. Once gold-plated, it is almost impossible to tell real gold from gold-plated jewelry just by looking at it.
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As with all things, there are downsides to choosing gold-plated jewelry. Tarnishing, fading and repainting are common problems you encounter.
We are here for you. In this guide, we outline 13 things you need to know about gold plating before you buy.
Gold plating is a process in which a thin layer of gold is applied to a base metal. Plating is very common in the jewelry world, with gold and rhodium being two popular types. This process was invented in 1805 by Italian chemist Luigi Brugnatelli, the first person to apply a thin layer of gold to silver.
Gilding is often used for costume jewelry or to imitate more expensive pieces. It is almost impossible to distinguish expensive gold jewelry from cheap gold-plated imitations. Compare the two chains below. One is 14K gold plated and worth a few dollars. The other is 14K solid gold and costs over $7,000. Can you tell which is which?
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Plating jewelry with gold is a simple process, but requires several steps. The jewelry must first be thoroughly cleaned and freed of all contaminants. This is very important because dirt and oil on the base metal will prevent the gold layer from adhering properly. Steam cleaning, ultrasonic cleaning and electrocleaning are some methods to clean the base metal to achieve the best results.
A thin layer of high-quality nickel is then applied to the base metal. This is to protect the gold layer against any influences from the base metal. As we will discuss below, these metals tend to leach into the gold layer. The nickel layer also ensures that the base metal does not contaminate the gold liquid in the containers used for the electroplating process.
For the final layer, the jewelry is dipped into the containers of gold and a positive electrical charge is used to fuse the gold to the base metal. Once the thickness of the gold layer has been achieved to your satisfaction, the jewelry is hung to dry. Watch this in-depth video if you want to see the gold plating process in action.
Gold plating can be done on most metals, such as nickel, brass, stainless steel, silver and copper. Modern industrial metals such as tungsten and titanium are also often gold plated. Of these, silver and copper are most commonly used.
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Yes, gold plating is real gold, but because so little gold is used, such jewelry does not have the value of gold.
The purity of the gold used in gold plating is comparable to that of solid gold. The lowest purity is usually 10K and the highest is 24K gold. When it comes to gold plating, the main difference between this type of gold is the color it produces, not its value. The higher the purity of the gold, the more gold-like the color. However, the value does not change much due to how little gold is used, regardless of purity levels.
This is an extremely thin layer (approximately 0.05% gold) and is only recommended for jewelry that is protected from heavy wear, such as pendants and earrings. This thickness of plating wears out quite quickly.
The ideal thickness for gold plating is approximately 0.5 to 1.0 microns. Although this sounds like a thin layer, it is sufficient even for jewelry that is exposed to rough wear, such as rings and bracelets.
Gold Filled Vs Gold Plated
The plating around the 2.5 micron mark is quite thick and is known as heavy gold plating. However, even this amount of gold plating is still very thin in terms of value and the main benefit is that the plating will last longer if it is thicker.
Because the gold layer on most jewelry is very thin, it can be difficult to find all the gold. For gold refiners, it is often not worth the effort to extract the gold from gold-plated jewelry and the profit margins are very low.
As I mentioned above, there is very little real gold in gold-plated pieces. It is true that the higher the karatage, the more real gold the piece contains. However, this still amounts to an insignificant amount of gold overall and does not add much value to the piece. Gold plating often has little to no resale value and should not be considered in monetary terms. Gold filled is a much better option in terms of actual gold content.
Gilding can fade and discolor over time, losing its original shine and clarity. This is common and can happen regardless of the quality of the piece. However, many people wonder why gold-plated jewelry tarnishes. After all, isn’t gold an inert metal that doesn’t rust or corrode?
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The problem often does not lie with the plating itself, but with the base metal, which is sensitive to corrosion and oxidation. Over time, the base metal molecules eventually move to the gold layer, affecting its appearance. If the gold layer is very thin, it will discolour and quickly look dull.
As mentioned above, this leaching can be avoided if the jewelry is first plated with nickel, which prevents the base metals from affecting the appearance of the gold. If this is done during the plating process, the gold is unlikely to tarnish or discolor.
Gilding is intended to be permanent, but like all types of plating it does not hold up well to rough exposure. The gold plating wears away over time and can flake off, exposing the base metal underneath. It also loses its luster and fades with time. In general, plating can last up to two years with proper care.
The best way to deal with affected pieces is to have the piece re-plated if necessary. How often you need to do this depends on the thickness of the plating, the quality of the piece, the color of the base metal, and how much wear and tear the piece experiences.
Things You Need To Know About Gold Plating |jewelry Guide
By taking good care of gold-plated jewelry, you can extend its life and keep it bright and beautiful. Here are some steps you need to take:
Your jeweler must indicate that the gold is gold plated. However, here are some ways to identify yourself:
However, there is no hard and fast rule that gold-plated jewelry must be stamped. You will find many pieces that have no features at all.
This depends on the thickness of the gold and whether the piece contains metals that cause allergies, such as nickel, zinc and cobalt.
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In general, gold plating is not hypoallergenic and may cause skin reactions in people with metal allergies. This is due to the nickel content in the piece. When the gold layer wears out or flakes off, the nickel in the jewelry comes into contact with your skin, causing reactions.
Before purchasing gold-plated jewelry, check the metal alloys in the jewelry. Avoid metal allergens if you have metal allergies.
Home gilding kits like these are usually fun and easy to use. They are a good way to understand the gilding process and to gild some pieces yourself. If you have a lot of gold-plated jewelry, this can be a good way to keep it constantly shiny and shiny.
The best way to find gold-plated jewelry is to look at costume jewelers. These are affordable jewelry options and there are probably several brick-and-mortar stores near you. However, if you search online, Amazon has an excellent collection of gold plated jewelry. These are affordable and available in different styles. Gold plating refers to jewelry in which a thin layer of gold is bonded to a base metal via an ionic bonding process, in which the metal is dipped in a special chemical solution and zapped with an electric current. , which attracts gold ions and bonds them to the metal. Gold-plated jewelry often uses inexpensive metals such as copper and brass as the base metal, although sterling silver is sometimes also used. For jewelry to be considered gold-plated, the gold layer must be at least 0.5 microns thick (a micron is one millionth of a meter, for context). Because of the thin layer of gold, gold-plated jewelry generally sells at a lower price than its gold vermeil counterparts.
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The difference between gold vermeil and gold-plated jewelry is in the quality. The only thing they have in common is the ionic bonding process used to bond the gold atoms to the base metal.
