The KC handbook of the different types of gold jewelry
Image by Kenza Charania
As you can see from our infographic, gold filled jewelry is the next best thing to solid gold because of its thick layer of real solid gold and its permanent bond to the base metal. Often times, people think that vermeil is actually the best option because of its sterling silver base. However, people don't realize how thin the layer of gold is on the metal and that the bonding is electroplated and not permanently plated, making it easy to lose its gold color. Vermeil is not water-safe and we find that it tarnishes quite quickly. The main difference between gold filled and gold plated is the amount of gold over the base metal, and the way that the gold is bonded. The reason why gold filled jewelry has become recently popular is because it is long-lasting and you can shower, swim, exercise, etc. with your gold filled jewelry, making it a much cheaper alternative for solid gold and still very durable! Because of this, we decided to stick to gold filled as our choice of material because it is less prone to tarnishing, it is water-safe and it will likely last you years! Our gold filled jewelry uses brass as the base metal and ranges from 14k to 24k gold filled.
First things first ...
Before we get into how to care for your jewelry, lets just set a few things straight:
1. Water is not bad for you gold filled jewelry. Warm water is actually good for jewelry to clean it of excess residue and oil build up.
2. Never say never. Gold filled jewelry is still not solid gold, and it can tarnish over the course of maaany years. However, people tend to say that it never tarnishes because it can last you so many years - especially in comparison to gold plated jewelry!
3. All gold filled jewelry is different. The same way that gold jewelry differs depending on the carat, gold filled jewelry is the same! Therefore, 14k gold filled jewelry will look slightly different to color in 18k gold filled jewelry. Not only, all 14k gold filled jewelry does not look the same, and all 18k gold filled jewelry will also not look the same! Each carat has numerous shades and depending on where the gold is from and where the jewelry is made, each piece can look different!
4. Everyone's skin is different. Gold filled jewelry is supposed to very durable and safe from sweat, water, and salt water. However, everybody is different and everybody's skin reacts differently to different metals. All of our pieces use brass as the base metal, and if your skin in sensitive to brass (whether you know it or not), it may turn you skin green! This has nothing to do with the quality of the jewelry, this is simply your skin's reaction to the brass metal (even if there is a thick layer of gold permanently bonded to it). If this has happened to you, avoid showering with your jewelry and try soak the jewelry in warm water to remove residue and reduce the chance of reaction!
How to take care of your gold filled jewelry
- Take off your jewelry before your daily rituals such as showering, putting on lotion and perfume, exercise, washing dishes, swimming, etc.
- Before bedtime, lay your jewelry on a fabric surface to avoid tangling and/or scratching
- Avoid contact with substances that can damage your jewelry such as salt, bleach, vinegar, acetone and alcohol