Know Your Gold: Solid, Vermeil, Plated and Filled

by Kim Tutt

Know Your Gold: Solid, Vermeil, Plated and Filled

It is important to understand your gold options when buying gold jewelry. First, here is a little information about gold, in general. Gold purity is categorized in karats. The purer the gold, the higher the karat count. Do not confuse “karat” with “carat.” Karats measure the purity of gold, and a carat is a unit of mass used to weigh diamonds. Most gold jewelry made in the United States is either 10K, 14K or 18K. The following are the most common gold karats:

  • 10K is very durable, but it contains only 41.7% pure gold, so it is less expensive.
  • 14K contains 58.3% pure gold, but it is still durable. Most gold jewelry in the U.S. is 14K.
  • 18K is even more pure, containing 75% pure gold, but it is still durable enough for jewelry-making.
  • 24K is considered “solid” gold, containing 99.99% pure gold, but it is very soft and not durable enough for most jewelry-making. Additionally, it has a very brassy/orange color. 24K currently costs over $1700 per ounce. Yikes!

Although 10K, 14K and 18K gold are much more affordable than 24K gold, they are still expensive options, due to their high gold content. Fortunately, there are 3 great alternatives - gold vermeil, gold-plated and gold-filled - none of which will break the bank! Since these 3 alternatives each have gold layered over another base metal and they may appear to be the same on the outside, it can be confusing as to which one to buy. It is important to know the difference between these 3 gold alternatives, especially when buying gold jewelry online.

GOLD VERMEIL (ver-​ˈmā) jewelry, also known as “silver gilt,” consists of a top layer of gold over a base layer of silver. In order to be considered true vermeil in the United States, the following 3 conditions must be true: 1.) the silver base must be either 92.5% Sterling silver or 100% pure silver, 2.) the gold top layer must be at least 10K gold or a higher quality gold, 3.) the gold layer must be at least 2.5 microns thick. The gold top layer is usually chemically electroplated onto the silver base. Electroplating is a chemical process which consists of taking the base metal jewelry and dipping it into a special liquid where a layer of gold (and other alloys) is then chemically bonded to the surface. Sterling silver (stamped “925”) means the silver consists of 92.5% pure silver mixed with a 7.5% alloy of copper, zinc and/or nickel. Pure silver consists of 99.9% silver.

GOLD-PLATED jewelry consists of taking a base metal (usually brass or copper) and chemically electroplating it with a top layer of gold. Electroplating is a chemical process which consists of taking the base metal jewelry and dipping it into a special liquid where a layer of gold (and other alloys) is then chemically bonded to the surface. The electroplating dipping process may also be used to add a protective anti-tarnish coating. Although there are no minimum gold karat or layer thickness requirements to be considered gold-plated in the U.S., most gold-plating is 0.5 microns thick, but the gold top layer could be much thicker. Therefore, some gold-plated jewelry might actually be worth more than gold vermeil jewelry if the gold-plated jewelry contains a higher karat gold and/or a thicker top layer of gold.

GOLD-FILLED jewelry consists of taking a base metal (usually brass or copper but sometimes Sterling silver) and then heat-bonding 2 or 3 layers of gold (usually 14K, 18K or 24K) over the base metal. To be considered gold-filled in the U.S., the top gold layer must be at least 5% of the total weight. Gold-filled is a great alternative to solid gold because it has a thick top layer of gold which makes the piece look like it is made of solid gold. Plus, true gold-filled jewelry tends to tarnish less easily than gold-plated or gold vermeil jewelry.

So which gold choice is the best? Well, definitely, solid 24K gold is the best! But if you are looking for a less expensive alternative, the next best thing is 18K vermeil or 24K vermeil (as long as it is true vermeil). However, true vermeil is hard to find. Sometimes you see “vermeil-style,” which is actually gold-plating of less than 2.5 microns over Sterling silver. And true vermeil is still fairly expensive (due to its higher gold content). A true gold-filled or a thick gold-plated piece might be a more affordable choice, and they will last for years with just a little preventative care. Basically, it comes down to how much you want to spend. And just in case you’re wondering, rose gold is made by using copper as the base alloy and adding it to either 14K or 18K gold.

At Gemsicles, we offer many types of precious metals and plating/vermeil/filled options. We see the beauty and the value in all metals. We also recognize sometimes buyers want a fancy or trending piece of jewelry without the high price tag! We are always 100% honest and transparent with the materials used in our designs, which we fully disclose in the “Materials” section of each listing. Please ask us if you have any questions, as we are always here to help.

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xoxo, Kim

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