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Gold-Filled vs Gold Plated
Looking to get that golden glow this summer? Shine bright and read on as we take an in-depth look of the gold materials we use in our jewelry!
When deciding to purchase something sparkly, it’s important to know what materials are used to make the jewels. If you choose the wrong materials, the life span of your latest piece could be really short. At Lisa Maxwell we take careful consideration when deciding on what materials to use and when!
Most of our pieces are made with gold-filled but parts of our pieces are also made from gold plated jewelry. There’s a lot of debate on whether you should use gold plated or gold-filled among the jewelry community but for those that aren’t in the know, what exactly does this mean?
Gold-filled is a layered composite metal consisting of mostly jeweller's brass or sterling silver and a layer of solid gold over top (5% of the item's weight).
Pressure and heat bond the layers together resulting in a much stronger bond than gold plating.
Gold-filled pieces are known to retain their quality for a lifetime up to 10 years and will not tarnish or turn colour when treated with care.
Gold plating is a method of depositing a thin layer of gold onto the surface of another metal, most often copper or silver, by chemical or electrochemical plating.
A budget-friendly option, it gives the look of solid gold without the price tag and is ideal for jewelry you don’t plan to wear on a daily basis.
So what are the benefits of using these materials?
A higher percentage of gold coating (5% versus 0.05% with plated)
Hypoallergenic
Tarnish resistant
Sustainable
Hypoallergenic
Gives the look of gold without the price tag
Easily accessible for most budgets
Better material for more intricate designs
What we use at Lisa Maxwell
Most of the time we choose to use gold-filled over gold plated with all Lisa Maxwell chains being 14K gold-filled. From the beginning, we’ve always chosen to use gold-filled as much as we can since it has a longer lifespan. However, the extreme heat used in gold-filled can sometimes be too much for the crystals we use and crack them. In order to use the dainty gemstones you love, encasing them in gold plating is the perfect option!
Featured:
Serenity Bracelet, Gold Cable Chain, Compassion Earrings, Charmed with Abundance Bracelet, Emerald Solstice Necklace, Dainty Gold Hammered Ring
