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The least expensive gold jewelry will be electro plated. A very thin layer of 14Kt gold can be deposited on most metals, and even some nonmetallic materials. The electro plating process bonds the gold on an atom by atom process. A solution contains a gold alloy salt in solution has an electric current passed through it. The item to be plated is in direct electrical contact with the energy source. The electric current carries the gold alloy ions, and deposits them on the plating target. The thickness of the plating is quite thin. For an item to be called gold electro plated the thickness of the plating only has to be .175 micro inches .
The next level of thickness is know as gold plated. The process is the same, however the thickness of the gold covering is .50 micro inches. Heavy gold plated
requires a thickness of 2.5 micro inches. All three plated types have a similar appearance when new. However a heavy gold plate has more than 12 times the thickness of electro plated gold. .175 micro inches compared to 2.5 micro inches.
Therefore how long an item that has any form of gold plating should last will be in direct proportion to the thickness of the gold layer. Assuming the the quality of the plating methods are equal.
Settings very often using sterling silver as the underlying metal my be referred to as Vermeil. Vermeil is a trade term for a heavy gold plating of at least 2.5 micro inches. Vermeil is not an alloy, or type of metal. It is only another legal way of stating that sterling silver has a heavy gold plating.
Jewelry or rings designated as gold filled have a much heavier layer of gold. Also the application process is very different. A gold filled mounting will have a thickness that results in the actual weight of the gold alloy being 1/20 of the total weight of the piece. Gold filled's thickness is about 200 times thicker than heavy gold plated. The standard designation would be stamped 1/20 12k GF.
The layer could be 12Kt, 14Kt, or 16Kt. When the carat changes the thickness would not change, only the proportion of pure gold to the other metals used in the alloy.
There is a related product called gold rolled. However the gold layer is thinner,
and needs to be only 1/40 of the total weight. An item would be stamped 1/40 12k R.G.P. When a gold filled item is manufactured a thin layer of gold is bonded to the base metal by the application of heat and pressure. It is interesting to note how most of the above items start out as a sterling silver base. Both gold and sterling silver are metals that are extremely workable for jewelry production.
"Real" gold is a solid alloy of gold. In the United States the alloy can contain
10, 12, 14, 16, 18, or 22 parts of real gold, and the balance of the alloy would equal 24 parts of the total alloy. The simplest case is 12KT gold. Which is half pure gold, and half alloy blend. 10 Kt, and 12 Kt gold can have too brass like an appearance. 14 Kt and above will have the warm gold yellow tones that most people think of when referring to gold.
The Federal Trade Commission has established the designations, the stamping or marking requirements and disclosures required to protect the public. Most jewelers will only sell solid gold items that are 12kt or above.
On some of the television shopping channels they are currently selling costume jewelry with descriptions that give the impression that the jewelry is made with precious metals. If you pay close attention, they will disclose if real gold or sterling silver is being offered. There is nothing wrong with purchasing costume jewelry. Just be sure that when you think that you are purchasing real gold or sterling silver, that is actually what you are buying. With modern technology gold or silver tones can be reproduced without any precious metal being used. Some items may also have a final coating of an acrylic type material to preserve the finish.
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