Fashion Trends & Inspiration - Personal Style

Gold Jewelry Types

February 3, 2024

I’m at the stage in my life where I am tired of purchasing jewelry that tarnishes wear after wear. I like to wear the same pieces almost daily, and they certainly take a beating. I work, go to the gym, swim, sauna, and hike. I need something to withstand it all because I don’t have the time to worry about what jewelry I’m wearing throughout the day.

This led me down the path of learning about different types of gold jewelry and what is most appropriate for the everyday wear I’m looking for. Specifically, my mission was to replace a tarnished brass necklace that I already owned, with something similar.

Gold Plated

Gold plated jewelry is a base metal such as brass or copper, that has a layer of gold less than 3 microns thick plated. The composition of gold makes up about 0.05% gold or less. This is an affordable route to go down due to the small percentage of gold. However, be aware of thin gold plating. A gold plate thickness of 2.5 microns is typically recommended as it protects from wear and tear and the appearance is maintained. Typically anything thinner than this reveals tarnishing of the base metal after the gold wears off. Still a great choice if you wanted to try a different trend you weren’t quite sold on yet!

Gold Vermeil

A step above plating is gold vermeil. This is similar to gold plating but the standards are set to a sterling silver base and a minimum of 2.5 microns of gold plating is required. This is a great choice for that everyday wear as the minimum requirement can lead to longevity of your piece for longer. This is also a good hypoallergenic choice because of the sterling silver base.

Gold Filled

Gold filled jewelry is typically 14k gold over a base metal of copper or brass. Where this differs compared to vermeil or plating is that the standard is 5% gold by weight and the gold is bound to the base metal via mechanical process vs the electroplating process. This results in a durable bond and therefore you get the benefit of 14k gold but having a cheaper price tag. However due to the manufacturing process, you are less likely to find intricate pieces compared to the other mentioned categories.

I liked the options I found at GLDN for the birth flowers that I was looking to replace. They had different chain lengths to select from and you could even upgrade to solid gold.

Solid Gold

Solid gold jewelry is just as it sounds – solid gold with no base metal. There are varying kinds with most people recommending 14k or 18k gold for every day wear. Pieces that are 14k solid gold mean that it consists of 58.3% gold mixed with other alloys. With a higher price tag, you can get 18k gold, which is 75% gold. As you work your way up to 24k gold you’re getting a higher price tag due to the increased gold content, but a loss in durability. I’d love to dig deeper into these increments in another post because there are some additional characteristics and recommendations of credible places to purchase solid gold pieces.

For now, I was just looking for a replacement for my brass necklace that wouldn’t tarnish in the future with frequent wear. After scouring online, I settled upon Catbird. As it turns out they had EXACTLY what I wanted. They had the exact same birth flower I searching for. It’s a bit more dainty than my original, but it’s the perfect staple to wear for decades to come and will hold its worth.