You can get easily confused when buying gold filled, especially when speaking with a sales person. Gold filled has a few different variations of karat used, this effects the value. We wanted to break it down to show you why there is a cost difference/value in our pieces made in 14kt gold filled vs. 18kt gold filled!
The guts of what's legally required:
- If the gold layer is 12kt or 14kt the minimum layer of karat gold in an item stamped "GF" must equal at least 1/20th the total weight of the item, or 5% pure gold by weight.
- Our 18kt gold filled are made with 1/30th gold weight which equates to 3% pure gold.
- LETS keep this in mind - 5% vs 3% of bonded gold, you WILL have a longer lasting piece with the higher percentage of gold. Gold-Filled can last a lifetime with diligent care, see here our recommendations.
Learn more about gold-filled here.
What about Plated Jewlery?
Gold filled pieces, the actual gold is much thicker than gold plated pieces, but still can’t beat solid gold. The base metal for this type of jewelry can be silver, copper or brass. Because gold filling is much more intense and consumes gold in a higher quantity, the price tag of gold filled jewelry is often higher than that of gold plated pieces.
Making gold filled is a strictly regulated process that involves pressure bonding multiple layers of solid gold with extreme heat over a core of high quality jeweler's brass resulting in a durable, quality real gold product. The most common stamps found on gold-filled jewelry are 12/20, 12kt GF and, 14/20 14kt GF.
