Gold or Silver????

Hopefully, on this page we will try to clear up just what all these terms mean, and more importantly, how you use them in your jewellery making.

What are the differences between gold-plated, vermeil, and gold-filled?
What does the karat measure? How much silver is in sterling silver?

Gold -plated  A base metal such as steel or brass is dipped into a bath of electroplating solution, with a lump of solid gold. When an electric current is applied, a thin layer of gold is deposited on the metal. Since the plating is quite thin, the plate (and hence the colour) on findings can wear off.

Sterling Silver is a mixture of pure silver and some other metal, usually copper. The resulting alloy gives the silver strength. The standard is at least 92.5% silver. Hence the .925 stamp you see on some sterling silver items

Vermeil (Pronounced: Vermay) is sterling silver that has been gold-plated. Most of our vermeil is plated with 24K gold. This is a good combination for those with allergy to normal, plated findings. The difference between vermeil, and gold-filled, is in the thickness of the gold and the base metal used. In vermeil, the base is sterling silver.

Gold Filled also called rolled-gold. These jewellery findings are not actually filled with gold! They are made of a base metal (usually brass or copper) covered by sheets of gold in a mechanical bonding process. Effectively a thick coat of gold: the gold content is 5% or 1/20 of the total weight. Use gold-filled items for your top-of-the-line jewellery. Usually made with 14k gold, it is hard wearing. With reasonable care it will not peel or flake, and should last as long as solid 14k gold jewellery. It is safe for most people with sensitive skin

Gold jewellery reacts with chlorine. Never take your gold jewellery into a pool or spa.

Allergies: Some people have allergic reactions to some platings. The most common is nickel-plating- possibly up to 10% of people react to nickel. Unfortunately nickel is used to color gold, as an alloy, and sometimes in the electroplating process. Tarnish free wire is covered with a polyeurethane coating thus protecting the skin from the metal when worn such as in earrings and necklaces. 

Gold Purity - Karats

The karat is a very old measure of how much gold is in an alloy, or gold-blend. A measure of 1 Karat is where there is 1 part of pure gold and 23 parts of metal alloy - or 4% gold. So 24K is 100% pure gold.

9K is 37% - 14K is 58% - 18K is 75%

Back to Articles