What is the difference between solid gold, gold filled, gold plated, and vermeil?

What is the difference between solid gold, gold filled, gold plated, and vermeil?

What is the difference between solid gold, gold filled, gold plated, and vermeil?

The split is how much gold is present and where it sits. Solid gold is a gold alloy all the way through the piece. Gold filled bonds a thick layer of gold to a base-metal core, so the gold is substantial and long-lived. Gold plated is a base metal — at Hengdian (HD) Jewelry, brass — finished with a thin 18-karat gold surface layer of 0.1-0.3 micron as our standard. Vermeil is a 925 sterling silver core finished with a gold plating layer.

Why the construction matters for buyers

  • Cost: plating avoids precious-metal material cost, so gold plated is the lowest-cost, fastest-turning line.
  • Longevity: solid and filled last longest; plating eventually thins at contact points and is refreshed by reordering.
  • Positioning: each tier serves a different shopper, from volume fashion to precious-metal value.

For the exact marks that identify each construction, our team on WhatsApp can share the stamp-decoding sheet.