What’s the difference between a gold-plated, gold vermeil and solid gold pieces?

The difference between gold-plated, gold vermeil and solid gold comes down to how much gold you’re actually getting. In general, more gold means a higher price, so gold-plated will usually be the cheapest, while solid gold is the most expensive. Gold is measured in karats, the number of karats marks how pure a gold is, 24 karat being the purest form. However, the higher the karat, the softer the gold. So even though 24k has the highest karat, you won’t see much of it used on jewelry pieces as it is soft, malleable, and easily scratched. To make gold stronger, it is mixed with other metals, like copper, silver, etc.

Gold-plated jewelry uses low-cost metals such as brass and copper as its base then putting a very thin layer of gold over it. These are not hypoallergenic since the base metal used is a cheap type of metal and could cause green skin or irritation when used.

Gold vermeil uses genuine sterling silver as a base metal as is coated with gold which should at least 2.5 microns of gold (but our jewelries have thicker plating that is 5 microns of gold). Since its base metal is a genuine silver, we take pride in saying that our gold vermeil pieces are hypoallergenic so it’s good for all skin types and it will last many times longer than a gold-plated jewelry because of its thicker plating.

Solid gold is the top of the line, since it actually is made of gold (mixed with other metals to be durable) hence, the best quality and the highest price. It’s also an investment piece, since its value retains over time.