Gold Filled Gold Plated Jewelry Markings

You may also see gep which means gold electroplated and rgp meaning rolled gold plate.

Gold filled gold plated jewelry markings.

There are about a dozen numbers in between from 10k or 417 to 23k or 950. The quality marks for gold plated indicate that an article has been electroplated with gold of at least 10 karats. For example mid 20th century and later pieces are very often marked 1 20 12k gold filled. Vermeil pronounced ver may is gold.

There is no minimum thickness required for silver plated or gold plated articles. Look for other hallmarks or stamps that indicate plated gold such as hge gold filled plate rgp ep or 1 10. Like gold plated jewelry some gold filled jewelry has a thicker layer of gold than other gold filled jewelry. Rae gf stands for gold filled which means that this piece is plated with gold and has some other metal underneath.

Some other markings mean a jewelry item is not fine karat gold. Sometimes the karat value is shown as a ratio such as 18 24 or 14 24 this is most commonly seen with gold filled jewelry as mentioned in the section above. A piece may be identified as gold filled gold overlay rolled gold or with abbreviations of those terms such as gf for gold filled. Solid gold jewelry in contrast is made entirely of one material usually an alloy that contains gold mixed with other metals to make the compound harder and more durable.

The quality marks for silver plated indicate that an article has been electroplated with silver of at least 92 5 purity. Standard purity marks used for vintage gold jewelry. Vintage gold jewelry with european purity marks. Gold filled jewelry may also be marked with fractional numbers around the karat quality mark.

The 10k simply stands for 10 karat which is the purity of the gold plating. Gold filled items are similar to gold plated pieces in that they are not solid gold. Gold can be all the way up to 24k 999 or 9999 which indicates about 99 percent pure gold. In some instances the weight of the gold is actually marked on the gold filled jewelry.

Hge for heavy gold electroplate is another mark that indicates gold plating you can also see hgp. Gold plated jewelry markings. In that case it s either plated or filled gold or it s costume plain old jewelry not real gold. In europe purity marks are commonly shown as percentages.

Gold plated jewelry however has a much thinner gold coating. Gold jewelry and other gold collectibles have always been prized for their beauty and the valuable metal they contain. The 1 20 means that 1 20th of the total weight or 5 is real gold. For example 1 10 14k g f means that the piece is gold filled and that 1 10 of its weight is 14 karat gold.

Looking at gold markings is one of the fastest ways to establish what your jewelry is made of.