It can be confusing knowing what all the different gold options mean in terms of value, care required and longevity so we thought we’d write a little blog post about it…
GOLD PLATED
First up, we’ll start with gold plated. Gold plated is a very thin layer of gold electrically charged onto a base metal, usually brass or copper.
The amount of gold used is tiny, usually 0.5 microns (average) - 5 microns (heavy plating).
Gold plated is the most affordable gold option and great if you want to change your jewellery often and try out new trends. With the right care and low exposure to moisture your gold plated pieces could last up to a year. The longevity depends on how often the piece is worn, exposure to moisture and chemicals (ie. perfume, body lotion, etc), an acidic pH level in the body and therefore skin/perspiration can also cause discolouration or tarnishing.
GOLD FILLED
Gold filled consists of a base metal covered in sheets of gold. Bonded in a mechanical process using very high heat. The layer of gold usually consists of 5% of the overall weight Vs gold plated which usually only consists of 0.05% of overall weight.
For a piece to be classed as gold filled 1/20 of its weight needs to be made from real gold.
This is a much more affordable option to solid gold and the thick layer of gold makes it resistant to tarnishing and hard wearing. Due to different production processes and thicknesses of gold each piece will have a different wear time, but if gold filled jewellery is properly cared for it can last 10-30 years so a good option for everyday wear jewellery.
SENSITIVE SKINS
Gold filled jewelry is made with solid gold sheets the base metal will not come in contact with the skin, this makes it a safe metal for people with sensitive skin.
Whereas, gold plating had such a tiny layer of gold that once it starts to wear away the skin will come into contact with the base metal and can cause an allergic reaction.
SOLID GOLD
Is the most expensive and durable among the other types of gold jewelry. Solid gold items can be either 10K, 14K, 18K, or 24K. Karats (K) are percentages of actual gold in the jewelry piece.
LIBERTY+BLUSH GOLD OPTIONS
Our range predominantly started out with gold plated pieces as we wanted to bring you the most affordable, on-trend pieces.
We are now focusing on bringing you more gorgeous gold filled pieces that we know will last and later this year we plan on introducing some solid gold pieces - watch this space!