Gold plated, vermeil and solid gold explained

The words used to describe gold on a jewelry label are regulated, specific and almost universally misunderstood. They describe how much gold there is and how it is attached, and the difference between two of them can be a factor of a hundred.

Everything on this site is labelled with the term the manufacturer uses, and nothing here is called gold unless it is solid gold. This page explains what each term means so you can read any label, ours or anyone else’s.

Solid gold

Solid gold means the whole piece is a gold alloy. The karat number states how much: 24k is pure, 18k is seventy-five per cent gold, 14k is just under fifty-nine per cent, 10k is a little over forty-one per cent. The remainder is other metals that give the alloy its hardness and its colour.

Pure gold is too soft for jewelry that gets worn. 14k is the usual American compromise between colour and durability. Solid gold does not wear through, because there is no layer to wear through — the colour goes all the way down.

Gold filled

Gold filled is a thick layer of gold alloy mechanically bonded to a base metal core, and in the United States it must be at least one-twentieth of the total weight to carry the name. That is a substantial amount of gold — perhaps a hundred times the thickness of ordinary plating — and it is why gold-filled pieces last for years of daily wear.

It is not the same as solid gold and should never be sold as such, but it is the closest thing to it at a fraction of the price.

Vermeil

Vermeil, pronounced ver-may, has a legal definition in the US: a sterling silver base with a gold layer of at least 2.5 microns. Two things matter in that sentence. The base must be sterling silver, not brass, and the gold layer has a minimum thickness.

That makes vermeil the best-defined of the plated categories, and it is why a vermeil piece can be worn regularly without the base showing through quickly. It is also why it costs more than ordinary plating.

Gold plated and gold tone

Gold plated means a thin layer of gold deposited over a base metal, usually brass. There is no minimum thickness in ordinary usage, which is why plating quality varies so widely. A heavy plating on brass can last a year of frequent wear; a flash plating can go in weeks at the points of contact.

“Gold tone” and “gold colour” mean there is no gold at all — the finish is a coating that looks like gold. Both are perfectly legitimate for costume jewelry, and both should be described honestly.

Several boxed sets on this site are gold plated, and they are listed as gold plated. A twenty-dollar set of forty-nine pieces cannot contain solid gold, and any shop implying otherwise is telling you something untrue.

What 18K stamped on plated jewelry means

You will see “18K gold plated” frequently. It describes the karat of the gold in the plating layer, not the piece. An 18k plating on brass is still brass with a thin gold surface. The stamp is accurate; it is simply answering a different question from the one most people think it is answering.

Sterling silver and what 925 means

Sterling silver is 92.5 per cent silver, which is what the 925 stamp records. The rest is usually copper, and that copper is why silver tarnishes: it reacts with sulphur compounds in air and skin. Tarnish is a surface film, not damage, and it polishes off.

Several pendants here are sterling silver, and they are stamped. A sterling piece with a gold-coloured finish is vermeil if the plating meets the thickness rule.

Which lasts longest in practice

In descending order of how long the finish survives daily wear: solid gold, gold filled, vermeil, heavy gold plate, flash plate, gold tone. Where a piece sits on that list is decided by the maker, not by the price tag, and the two do not always agree.

The places that wear first are the ones that rub: the underside of a ring, the inside of a bangle, the back of a clasp, the edge of a pendant that sits against a zip. A necklace outlasts a bracelet on the same finish for exactly that reason.

How to read our listings

Where a manufacturer states a material, we repeat it word for word. Where a manufacturer says only “gold plated” without a base metal, that is what the listing says, because we are not going to guess at brass. If a piece is sterling silver it says sterling silver, and if the stone is a moissanite or a cubic zirconia the listing names it rather than calling it a diamond.

You can see the whole plated range on the gold plated jewelry sets page and the bracelets and bangles page, and the sterling pieces on the everyday pendant necklaces page.

Keeping a plated finish looking new is a separate subject, and it is covered in our note on keeping plated jewelry from tarnishing. If a listing is unclear, phone the counter — the piece is in the case and somebody can look at the stamp.