How to Determine if Your Jewelry is Gold Plated or Solid Gold

As the “golden jewelry” becomes prevalent choice for so many countries in the world, you have probably come across the jewelry that is described as “gold”, “gold filled”, and “gold plated”. It is important to know the difference between these common phrases, because not all the “gold” is created equal. This article is going to tell you that how to determine if your jewelry is gold plated or solid gold.

What is solid gold and gold plated jewelry?

Solid gold: Gold is an element, which means that truly solid gold is made up of just gold metal. Because pure gold can be extremely soft for a metal, so it is often mixed with other metals, creating an alloy that is stronger than the pure gold. This level of purity is referred to as 24 karat gold, which is usually denoted by a "24k" marking. Solid gold will not tarnish, which is an important reason to explain that why it is so highly prized for jewelry and other ornaments.

Gold plating: Gold plating is a process that uses electricity or chemicals to deposit and bond an extremely thin layer of gold onto another metal. Most often is copper and silver, which can give the jewelry the look of gold even though it is primarily made up of another more affordable metal, which is why most gold plated jewelry items are significantly less expensive than solid gold or other gold alloy items. Of course, higher quality gold plating process can also make the jewelry shinning for a long time.

Instructions to determine if your jewelry is gold plated or solid gold

1. Try to weight your jewelry. Generally speaking, solid gold jewelry is heavier than jewelry that is gold plated. Therefore, it is an easy and good way for you to get the right jewelry types through their weight.

2. Identify the marks on the jewelry. If your jewelry is gold plated, there you can find the letters HGE or RGE marks on your jewelry. While the solid gold jewelry will carry a “maker’s mark”, which indicates the karat of the jewelry. But it is not absolutely suitable for all, so it is advised that you ask your supplier before purchases.

3. Use the nitric acid to test. Normally, the gold jewelry has no reaction to the nitric acid. If the jewelry appears to be different when having the nitric acid applied to the scratch, then it is gold plated. Of course, you can also buy an electric gold jewelry tester, which is more precise.

Conclusion:

To be sure that what you are getting is what you are paying for, there do have so many ways for you to make a test. You can follow the methods provided above. But to have a more rest-assured purchasing experience, we suggest that you buy the gold jewelry from the reliable and reputable jewelry supplier. Why not take time to know about Viennois-online and have a try? Good luck to your wholesale collection!