Gold Filled Vs Gold Plated
 

When searching for that perfect piece of jewelry it is important to know whether or not you are getting your money's worth. So, what is the difference between gold filled jewelry and gold plated jewelry?
 

The manufacturing processes are different for gold filled vs gold plated jewelry and the amount of gold alloy used in gold filled jewelry is higher than in gold plated jewelry.
 

To make gold filled pieces gold alloy is layered on both sides of a base metal. Heat and pressure are applied to the two metals and this results in strong bond.  To make gold plated pieces, an electric current is passed through the base metal to negatively charge it, while a a solution containing gold ions is positively charged. The positive gold ions are attracted to the negative charge of the core metal. This forms a layer of gold on top of the base metal.













 

If you had a cross section of a gold filled piece of wire and a gold plated piece of wire you would see that that gold filled piece has a much thicker layer of gold alloy. In fact, 100X more gold alloy. To declare that the metal is gold-filled, at least 5% of the item's total weight must contain gold alloy.  Gold plated only contains about .05%
 

Because the layer of gold alloy on gold plated jewellery is so thin, minor scratches can reveal the base metal underneath resulting in tarnishing. So, in the long run not very resistant to wear. Gold filled jewelry on the other hand, lasts longer and stands up to wear. As long as the piece is well cared for, gold filled jewelry can last a lifetime.
 

This is why we prefer to use gold filled metals in our designs. They are more affordable than solid gold and more durable than gold plated.