GOLD-PLATED vs GOLD-FILLED, THE DEMYSTIFICATION OF ALL THINGS GOLD
I don’t know about you, but for me, buying gold jewelry can get a little confusing. Before I started making jewelry, my knowledge was quite limited. I mean, for the longest time, I didn’t understand the difference in gold-plated vs gold-filled. I assumed they were interchangeable terms. Pardon my naivete. Spoiler alert. Turns out they aren’t. Far from it.
Granted, at the time, I had never been faced with big jewelry purchasing decisions like selecting wedding or engagement rings. But, I wasn’t completely clueless either. I understood that 24K was the “best” in terms of purity. But, I also made sweeping generalizations. For example, if karat was mentioned in the product description (regardless of how many karats), I assumed it was quality. But, once you start referencing different karats (24K, 18K, 14K) in addition to terminology like “gold-plated,” “vermeil,” “gold-filled,” or some combination of all these things, I’m not sure I ever fully understood. What was the best? 18k “gold-dipped” must be better than 14k gold-filled right?
It wasn’t until I started working with different metals like gold, that I truly started to understand and physically see the differences in quality and value. It was eye opening to realize just how misinformed of a consumer I was. It was also the moment I realized how overpriced certain store bought jewelry actually can be and how much I undervalued handmade jeweler’s work, including my own at times. Buuuut, that’s a discussion for another time.
Anyway, whether you’re shopping for an engagement ring or simply looking to find a nice, solid, quality piece, there are a couple of things you need to factor in when deciding what kind of jewelry to buy.
RARITY
Before we dive into gold specifically, I thought it might be useful to share a high–level perspective on metals. Often, we hear terms like semi-precious metals and precious metals. But what does that even mean? Well, apparently, there isn’t actually a hard and fast scientific definition for a semi-precious metal. A general rule of thumb for distinguishing semi–precious versus precious metal is that anything that is measured in terms of purity (for example, how gold is measured by karat), then the metal is considered rare and is therefore deemed precious. I also read somewhere that metals used in currency can qualify as precious. But, that rule of thumb falls a little flat. For example, copper, used in pennies, is an abundant metal. Nonetheless, if you are looking for justification on why you’re considering a costlier item, I put together a quick snapshot of precious metals used in jewelry – progressing from left to right – in rarity and value:
Sources for the metal images above:
Copper: https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/f/f0/NatCopper.jpg
Silver: https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/6/64/SilverUSGOV.jpg or: http://images-of-elements.com/silver-2.jpg
Gold crystal: https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/d/d7/Gold-crystals.jpg https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/a/a0/Gold-37918.jpg/367px-Gold-37918.jpg
Platinum: http://images-of-elements.com/platinum.jpg
Palladium: https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/2/23/Palladium.jpg/250px-Palladium.jpg
Now, bear in mind, more rare and more precious doesn’t always equal mo’ better. In the case of platinum or palladium, an entire piece with these metals would be priced astronomically. So it is the rarity and tangibility that makes a metal like gold so special and coveted.
Once you’ve got a general sense of the metal type you like, the next helpful thing to understand is the qualities of the metal, leading me to my next point. For simplicity, I’ve focused on the considerations when purchasing gold jewelry.
PURITY
The purity of a precious metal, effectively, measures its intrinsic value. The purer (and rarer) the metal, the more “valuable.” When it comes to gold, the two standard measures of purity are karats and millesimal fineness.
The karat system, not to be confused with gemstone carats, is used exclusively to measure the purity of gold. Karats measure the amount of purity by 24 parts. Huh? If you don’t feel like doing the math, here’s a quick snapshot:
The second measure of gold is known as Millesimal fineness. Fineness is a more standard unit of measure applied across all precious metals like platinum, palladium, gold, and silver. It is a measure of the weight of pure metal to its total weight in parts by thousand. It sounds complex, but we don’t need to get into the details. I only mention this because you will often see a hallmark stamp of “fineness” denoted on jewelry. For example, some common jewelry stamps are .925 to represent sterling silver, .999 for fine silver. 950 for pure platinum jewelry or 999 on gold jewelry. You can reference the full list by precious metal here.
But, when factoring purity and rarity, it’s important to consider other characteristics. In the case of gold, the purer its form, the more malleable and soft is the metal is. It’s good fun to work with as a maker, but in terms of longevity for everyday jewelry wear, it may not always be ideal. Which leads me to my next topic on durability as it pertains to gold. (These general principles can loosely translate to other metals like silver as well).
DURABILITY
In attempt to demystify the differences between gold–plated vs. gold–filled vs. solid gold, I made a handy chart below. If you don’t want to parse through the details below, I’ll summarize the top takeaways. 1) Metal on plated jewelry is a very thin layer which makes it prone to fade and tarnish over time. 2) Gold-filled is a good alternative if you are looking for quality without shelling out the big bucks for solid gold. And while gold-filled is pricier than gold-plated, you can expect a gold-filled jewelry item to last years. It holds up well for everyday wear. 3) Gold-plated jewelry, often marketed in department stores as “gold-dipped”, may last up to a year if well cared for. But, in reality, you might find yourself, as the item starts to show wear and tear, you might find yourself buying new jewelry every few months. I would recommend gold-plated jewelry if you’re into fast fashion trends. But, if you’re looking to find something that will last at an affordable price, I recommend shelling out a few extra dollars for gold-filled.
And, obviously, after all those considerations are made, the actual physical appearance matters most.
PHYSICALITY…(aka, how pretty it looks)
Gold tones, silver tones, pink hues. Obviously, after all is said and done, the physical appearance of your jewelry matters too. It matters huge! I mean, it’s why you are even considering making the purchase. It’s what you see, what the external world sees. And while it’s 100% subjective and based on personal preferences, a couple of quick things to keep in mind when it comes to coloring. In the case of gold, you will hear terms like “white gold” and “rose gold.” Outside of regular gold, any other color of “gold” is an alloy. – a mix of metals. For example, traditional white gold is mixed with a combination of nickel and silver to give it the silvery tones. But, if for instance, you have a nickel allergy, you may opt for a hypo-allergenic version which is gold mixed with palladium. This metal not only achieves a silvery gray color, but also offers strength to the gold. And of course, if you factor in rarity, this version of white gold comes at an added cost. In the case of rose gold, it is gold mixed with copper to give it that touch of pink. If you are somebody who is really sensitive to copper, as beautiful as this color is, it may not be right for you. It’s just another consideration to keep in mind when buying gold.
DECISIONS
At the end of the day, it really all comes down to personal preferences and circumstances at the time. We can’t predict if we’re all of a sudden a yellow–gold lover, when all our lives, we’ve worn silver. Or vice versa. And maybe it’s a trendy piece, in which case, a more affordable price point drives the jewelry buying decision. These are things that change, and we can’t control. But, we can be informed in our buying decisions. And sometimes, that is the difference between price and quality.
