What is gold-filled jewelry?

With gold-filled jewelry making up at least 5% of the gold jewelry on the market, gold–filled jewelry, can be defined as a class of jewelry that is recognized officially in the United States. Gold-filled jewelry is mechanically plated gold, and this class of gold jewelry had gained popularity across the US over the years.

Gold-filled jewelry can be defined as a piece of jewelry made of solid gold. It is made of an ultra-thin layer of gold which is bonded to the base metal permanently. This layer of gold that is bonded to the base metal or the metal core is bonded through the application of heat and intense pressure. The most common core or base metal for the gold-filled jewelry is sterling silver, but the use of brass metal is becoming more and more common as silver continues to increase in cost. Through the mechanical treatment of the gold to the base metal, the gold layer is pretty much bonded to the base metal more permanently. In most cases, the gold will last pretty much forever, without chipping, but this depends on how well the jewelry is cared for and how the manufacturer gold fills the jewelry.

Gold-filled jewelry is valuable thanks to the gold filling that is between 0.03 and 0.1 millimeters. It isn’t, however, as valuable as the solid gold jewelry, and the microscopic gold film that is up to 1000 times thicker than the gold film makes the gold-filled jewelry more valuable than the gold-plated jewelry.

Note that the difference between gold-filled jewelry, solid gold, and pure gold jewelry is that while the 24k pure gold has 99.99$ gold, solid gold is an alloy of gold – 10k, 14k, or 18k, and it refers to the karatage of pure gold in the gold alloy. Gold-filled jewelry, on the other hand, can be defined as the layered jewelry product whose karatage applies only to the amount of gold used for the gold layers. But to qualify as gold-filled, the jewelry in question must have at least 5% of gold in total product weight.

In Canada and the US, the total percentage of gold on gold-filled pieces was determined to be not less than 1/20th the weight of the piece of jewelry. With this in mind, the gold-filled jewelry would bear the 1/20 14k GF or the 1/20 12k GF. And besides the strict restrictions for Gold-Filled jewelry, the jewelry is also expected to meet all the federal standards for quality that are set by FTC (Federal Trade Commission), as well as the Government Regulatory Boards.

For the gold-filled jewelry will have the top layer with solid gold, which means that the gold-filled jewelry would look exactly like the solid gold jewelry. This also means that the jewelry is safe on the skin, and you shouldn’t be worried about irritation or allergic reactions from the gold-filled jewelry being in contact with the skin. The 14K gold-filled jewelry, for example, is free of nickel.

Note: Gold-filled jewelry is also known as rolled gold plated or rolled gold, with a solid layer of gold over sterling silver or brass.

Cleaning Care

A special formulated gold jewelry cloth, which is chemically treated with nontoxic cleaning and polishing agents, can restore the luster of the gold filled and solid gold jewelry. Special dipping agents and ultrasonics can be used on some Gold Filled and Solid Gold pieces in which the designs have hard to reach places to clean by hand. These items should only be gold filled and solid gold jewelry with no stones set, no antique plating or any other types of plating. Gold filled and solid gold jewelry, without stones set, should only be dipped in approved jewelry cleaner for a few seconds and then is immediately washed in warm water. The wet but cleaned jewelry piece should be wiped with a soft nonabrasive towel, such as microfiber cloths, and then air dried. It is highly recommended that jewelry set with stones be taken to your a reputable local jewelry store regularly for cleaning and inspection. Most reputable jewelry stores will do conduct a basic cleaning and inspection of your jewelry piece for free of charge.