STYLETHREAD -- LET'S TALK SHOP!

wicked · Coach

Vermeil?

Hermes

Vermeil has been around forever and is an acient technique. You probably already know this, but it's pronounced "ver-may" not "ver-meel"

Gold Filled is:

Definition: An item with a sheet of gold applied to its surface. Newer items contain markings that indicate how much and what type of gold was used in the layer. A marking of 1/20 12K G.F. means that the piece is at least 1/20th 12K gold by weight.

Gold Plate is:

Definition: A metal item that has a very thin layer of gold applied to it. The thin layer normally wears away more quickly than gold in a gold filled item.

So they're basically both gold plated, GF has more gold than plated. I have some vintage pieces that are GF, and they tend to have a dull gold appearance.

lynnie · Chanel

I *think* vermeil is another term for gold plated. Its a lot cheaper than gold filled- not necessarily for a thin chain, but a chunky gold filled chain might be $20 or so a foot at a jewelry store, and a gold filled might be $6 a foot. After all the retail markups (more than double by designer, than more then double by store), it makes a huge difference in price.

atlgirl · Gucci

So they're basically both gold plated

Actually, that's not true.

Gold plate is more like an "airbrush" of gold to the surface of a base metal (brass, nickel, etc). It's a thin wash of a precious metal to a base metal.

Gold fill is actually chemically bonded to a base metal core (usually brass) but it's much, much thicker and will last a *lot* longer than gold plate. It's a much more acceptable alternative to solid gold jewelry than gold plate is.

The reason 14 karat gold fill is not called "solid gold" is because the core is brass. "Solid gold", as many jewelry ads (and stores) call 14k gold, means that there is gold throughout the jewelry.

14k gold isn't pure gold - 24k is pure, but it's too soft to use on its own, so it's typically alloyed with a base metal for strength. 18k gold has a higher gold content, and 22k even more gold content.

Vermeil (and actually, you can pronounce it two ways - vermay or vermil, though most people prefer vermay), means that rather than using a base metal core, gold plate is applied to a sterling silver base. But no matter what the base metal is, plating tends to wear off pretty quickly from coming into contact with skin oils, lotion, hairspray, environmental pollutants, etc.

wicked · Coach

Thank you!