If you’re confused about the difference between gold and gold plated bulk jewelry, then you’ve come to the right place. Gold plated bulk jewelry is famous for the affordable prices and chic design. And you can easily spot a wide range of gold plated bulk jewelry in the jewelry market. It can be a perfect substitute for gold jewelry, because sometimes the pure gold is too soft and malleable to be designed into jewelry for daily wear, gold plated jewelry, instead, can be more durable and updates with trends.
If you are reading this blog, no matter whether you are a jewelry business owner who are hunting for fine jewelry stock, or a consumer to purchase favorable jewelry pieces. Knowing the differences between gold and gold plated jewelry is quite necessary. There are a variety of ways to determine if your jewelry is solid gold or gold plated, here, we’ve listed 5 easiest ways for you. If interested, scroll down to get more information!
Key differences between gold and gold plated bulk jewelry
Simply put, gold plating means using a thin layer of gold alloy on a base metal like copper, brass or stainless steel. You might think that the tiny gold contents are a disadvantage for gold plated bulk jewelry, however, that is not simply the case. There contains a huge potential market for gold plated bulk jewelry. So, what are the key differences between gold and gold plated jewelry?
- Gold content
First of all, the gold content of gold plated jewelry is tiny, usually less than 0.5% of gold. The purpose of gold plating is to give a shiny appearance of gold. Meanwhile, all the gold jewelry, is not made of pure gold. For example, yellow gold, was made by mixing the pure gold with zinc and copper. Meanwhile, we use karat to measure the gold purity. Like the 24k gold jewelry is very stunning and beautiful than 14k ones.
- Durability
Although the gold-plated bulk jewelry is harder than pure gold jewelry, it only contain a tiny layer of gold and is easily to be worn. When exposed to moisture conditions, the gold plating appearance can rub off quickly. However, the gold jewelry with high purity is uneasy to be worn. It will last longer and require less maintenance.
- Allergy
Compared with gold plated bulk jewelry, the gold jewelry is the least irritating to those that have allergies to base metals. Because the gold plated jewelry is usually layered on some metals like copper, brass even nickel. Therefore, when the gold finish rubs off, it may cause allergic reactions to your skin.
Ways to differentiate gold and gold plated bulk jewelry
- Check stamps
One of the easiest ways to differential gold plated bulk jewelry, is to check the stamps. The common markings include:
K: “K” refers to karats, which is the purity of the gold content in your jewelry.
GP: “GP” refers to gold plating. For example, 14KGP means the gold content in the plating.
GEP: “GEP” refers to gold electroplating, which is usually means the gold plating on the zinc.
- Magnetism
The next simple method to test your gold jewelry, is to use the magnetism test. The pure gold and silver is not magnetic. However, white gold may be magnetic, which is depended on the nickel content. Therefore, this way can use as one of your testing methods, not the only one.
- Water
You can test your gold jewelry by water displacement. First of all, prepare a scale, and cylinder. After that, weight your jewelry and drop it into the water. Then calculate the difference between the water volume before, and after you dropped the gold jewelry. Next, divide the weight of the jewelry in grams by the volume in cubic centimeters. If the result is close to 19.3, the high purity of gold your jewelry has.
- Scratch
This is only for professional test. When you come to experts for help, they may cut a part of your gold jewelry item, and observe it under the microscope. The gold plated jewelry may form a clear crack line around the cut area. However, the gold jewelry does not change.
- Acid
This is also used for professional test. The gold jewelry can be dropped into a certain type of acid to test its purity. When the metal begins to dissolve, you can look at the changes of the color, which can determine the base metal used in your gold-plated jewelry.
Final Thoughts
Both of the gold and gold plated bulk jewelry are popular jewelry types. There is no good or bad. The purpose of knowing how to differentiate them is to better help you make purchasing decisions. You can also go to Jewelrykg.com to explore more stunning affordable jewelry pieces, from which can buy jewelry by weight with no MOQ. We care about every customer and welcome any suggestions and opinions. Cooperating with us, you can get a wide range of updated high quality fashion jewelry pieces with factory prices. Most important, we sell jewelry by kilogram with no MOQ!
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