With the rates of gold touching new heights every day, the dream of owning and wearing the classic elegance of gold jewelry is becoming more and more distant. To get the feeling; and not to burn the pockets, gold-plated jewelry is used by people. It is something that is being used by people around the world to raise their style statement within budget. It gives the same satisfaction as wearing a gold piece of jewelry to the customers while being budget-friendly at the same time. But is it real, or are you being duped?
Is Gold-Plated Jewelry real or not?
To answer the question of the hour, that is, is the gold-plated jewelry real? In simple terms, yes, it is real. But, you must understand that the plating is real; and not the entire metal of the jewelry that is plated with gold. Because of the very little amount of gold that is used in the process of gold-plating of jewelry, such pieces of jewelry do not hold the same value as gold jewelry.
What is gold-plating?
It is a process wherein, on the base metal, a very thin layer of gold is bonded. This technique is common and very popular in the world of jewelry. The most popular types in the market are gold and rhodium. It is not a new technique if you are wondering. The technique; was first used in the 19th century in Italy. In today’s world, it is most commonly used to replicate more expensive pieces of gold jewelry. In most cases, it is used for costume jewelry as well. It is almost impossible for a normal person to tell which pieces of jewelry are real gold and which are just gold-plated.
Is it valuable?
Just like real gold, the gold-plating; is also done with various ranges of gold. Usually, the lowest quality is ten karat gold, and the highest is 24 karat gold. In gold-plating, the main difference is not the value of the jewelry that the plating gives but the color that it produces after being gold-plated. The higher the purity of gold gets with which the metal is being gold-plated, the more gold-like color of the jewelry will be there. But, regardless of the karat of gold in the plating, the value of the jewelry does not change much. It is because of the very small quantity of gold used in the process of gold-plating.
How to know if the jewelry is gold-plated?
- While purchasing the jewelry; the jeweler will let you know; if the piece is made of real gold or is just gold-plaited.
- Another thing by which you can know whether a piece of jewelry is real or gold-plaited is its price.
- The gold-plaited jewelry is very cheap and rarely passes the fifty dollars, a mark of price.
- Look for the hallmark on the jewelry. Most of the time, it is mentioned on the jewelry itself, whether it is real; or not.
- If you find some flaking on the jewelry or there is some uneven coloring on it, make no mistake; that piece of jewelry is fake.
Where to buy it?
There are many options from where you can buy gold-plaited jewelry. You can look for the gold-plaited jewelry in the costume shops around you. They offer a wide variety of gold-plated jewelry. You can also go to a jewelry store and ask for gold0plaited jewelry. Nowadays, e-commerce sites, such as Amazon, also offer a great deal of gold-plaited jewelry to choose from.
Conclusion:
To conclude, yes, the gold-plated jewelry is real. It uses plating of gold on some other metal and not pure gold for the entire jewelry. So, it is very inexpensive for the customers to buy and use. Although the gold used in the process of gold-plating is real, it is neither profiteering for jewelers to extract it nor valuable to the customers to sell it.
Frequently Asked Questions:
1. Does the process of gold-plating use real gold?
Yes. The gold used in the process of gold-plating is real gold. It is plated on some other metal to reduce the cost of jewelry; to make it affordable for everyone.
2. Is the gold-plaited jewelry valuable?
No. The gold-plaited jewelry is very cheap in comparison to the real gold pieces of jewelry. That’s what makes them affordable in the first place. It takes more effort to extract the plaited gold on metals than the worth of gold.
3. Can I gold-plate my jewelry at home?
Yes. There are many kits available in the market that allows you to gold-plait your jewelry at home itself.
4. Is the gold-plaiting permanent?
It is supposed to be permanent. But, it does not last for long. With the rough handling and exposure, the gold-plaiting starts to tarnish and fade after a year or so.
