Gold Plating 101

You want beautiful gold jewelry but your wallet a little empty these days? Well, there are alternatives to buying solid gold jewelry. You can always go for gold plated jewelry instead. 

There are four types of gold jewelry to choose from. Solid Gold, Gold Filled, Gold Vermeil, and Gold Plated. 

Solid Gold is the best, Gold filled a great alternative, but both are expensive, so be prepared to spend. Gold Vermeil is a good option if one can’t afford solid or gold filled. It is usually a layer of 2.5 microns of gold covering on top of Sterling Silver. While plated in its own way, it is still priced quite high, so it’s not always a cheaper alternative. 

If you are looking for good quality jewelry that won't break the bank we suggest gold plated jewelry in its stead 

What is gold plated jewelry you ask? 

Great Question!

Well, with the prices of gold being a little high for the average shopper, gold plating is a great alternative. It offers you the chance to purchase beautiful jewelry at a much lower price than your traditional gold.

Gold plated jewelry is a very light layer of gold - 0.05% actual gold or less - on top of a base metal (usually brass or copper). The thin layer of gold is plated onto the base metal to create gold plated jewelry.  

Here at Sparklane / Adorned we offer beautifully handcrafted jewelry in Sterling Silver and 18K Gold Plating in both Yellow & Rose Gold. Each jewelry piece has an intricately placed gold layer on top of our beautiful Sterling Silver pieces. 

One does have to be careful as gold plating is prone to tarnishing when exposed to any kind of liquids or chemicals. Since there is a much smaller amount it can tarnish that much easier. Our beautiful pieces are gold plated we recommend keeping it from water, sweat, and lotions. So don't downward dog with our dog tags! 

Happy shopping!