All that glitters...

• What is meant by gold-plated, vermeil, and gold-filled?
• How much silver is in sterling silver?
• What does the karat measure?

Gold Plated: A base metal such as steel or brass is overlaid with a fine layer of gold. As the plating is quite thin, the gold will wear off over time. The gold layer can also be any level of purity.

Gold-Filled or Rolled Gold: As above, but the overall weight of the gold plating used must be 1/20th the weight of the overall item. As the gold layer is much thicker and the bonding process used is different, the gold layer should last a lifetime.

Vermeil: Sterling silver electroplated with gold. The purity of the gold can vary (see tags for details) but is usually quite high. The thickness of the gold is also much higher than for gold plate. Also, because no base metals are used, this is a good choice for those who suffer from nickel allergies.

Sterling Silver: 92.5% pure silver (usually stamped 925 on the item) with other metals mixed in to make it harder wearing.

Karat: This denotes the purity of gold. 24 karat gold (or 24k) is 100% pure gold. 14k gold means that the item is made with 14 parts gold and 10 parts metal alloy (or 58% pure gold).

NOTE: Gold reacts with chlorine! Never wear your gold jewellery into a pool or spa.