Types of Gold Jewellery

Although pieces of gold jewelry may appear similar on the surface, their quality and cost vary depending on the process used to make them.

Gold Plated

Gold plated jewelry is typically the least expensive type of jewelry made from a base metal like brass or copper covered by a thin layer of gold (0.05% gold). The gold layer may fade or tarnish over time.

Gold-Filled

Gold-filled jewelry is made from a base like jeweler’s brass, with a solid layer of gold mechanically bonded to that base. It features nearly 100 times more gold than gold-plated jewelry and because of the mechanical bonding process, the gold won’t rub off.

Gold Vermeil

Gold vermeil is a type of gold-plated silver jewelry. Like gold-filled jewelry, it’s higher in quality than other types of gold-plated jewelry because it has more gold content. Gold vermeil includes 2.5 microns (or 2.5 thousandths of a millimeter) of gold, whereas gold-filled jewelry has less than 5% actual gold content (the rest is base metal). The manufacturing processes are different: Gold vermeil uses an electroplating process, whereas gold-filled uses a pressure and heat bonding process.

Solid Gold

Solid gold is a material consisting of gold in its purest form, with no base metal. It comes in various karats, with higher-karat jewelry corresponding with higher quality, purity and cost.