Gold jewelry is often made of more than just gold. Gold jewelry can be gold plated, gold vermeil or gold filled for example. The differences between these types of gold affect price, durability and quality.

On this page, you can read about different types of gold and what the differences are between them.

Gold Plated

Gold plating is usually done on a base metal that is coated with a thin layer of gold. This is often used in cheaper jewelry and the gold can easily fade and tarnish. When the gold disappears, the base metal is exposed, which can cause allergies and may irritate sensitive skin. None of our jewelry is so-called Gold Plated. Our jewelry is either, Micron Plated, Gold Filled, Gold Vermeil or Gold Solid.

Gold Filled 

The layer of gold is much thicker than both gold plating and gold vermeil. The gold layer must be at least 5% of the total weight to be called Gold Filled. The gold layer is pressed on the metal core under extreme heat and pressure. Gold Filled products have a real layer of gold and not just a microscopic film, which is the case with gold-plated objects. Gold Filled jewelry is hypoallergenic.

Gold Vermeil

Gold Vermeil jewelry has a core of sterling silver and a thick layer of gold. Gold Vermeil is of much higher quality than gold plating, partly because the core is sterling silver but also because the layer with gold is much thicker. All plating disappears with time, but it takes a long time if the jewelry is taken care of properly.

Gold Solid

Solid Gold is gold right through. To be able to make jewelry in Solid Gold, the gold is mixed with other metals, usually zinc and copper. How the gold is mixed effects both the carat of the gold and what colour the gold has. The gold type can vary between, for example, 14K or 18K. Pure 24K gold is very soft and can not be made into jewelry.