Is Your Jewelry Solid Gold or Gold Plated?
So you have started to go through your jewelry box to see if you have some gold to possibly sell and make a profit off of. The first thing you must do is figure out is it gold or just gold plated. Gold plated is not going to make you anything, but if it is solid gold you've got something good.
Solid gold jewelry is made out of a metal composition containing a gold alloy that is spread throughout the jewelry. Gold plated jewelry is a piece of jewelry with an under base of a non-gold metal that is just coated with a gold film.
In order to distinguish if you have jewelry that is plated, you can look to see if it has markings that indicate so. These marking are usually on the inside clasp. Jewelry that is gold plated is usually marked HGP, GEP, GP or HGE. If your jewelry has one of those listed markings it is gold plated. If there are no markings you just have to have jewelry inspect it.
Here's how acid testing works: The jeweler will take some sample material from your jewelry and then apply acid to it to observe if there is a color change, which will indicate what metals the sample contains. Acid testing is used mainly to determine the karat of solid gold jewelry, but it can also indicate whether the piece is plated.
Gold plated jewelry can also be spotted based upon its color. Most plated jewelry is plated in 24 karat gold which means it is extremely yellow in color. Jewelry that contains gold throughout cannot be pure solid 24 karat gold because it could easily be flawed. That is why pieces that contain gold throughout are made with a gold alloy.
A common way to inspect your jewelry is by seeing if the color of your jewelry is the same throughout. If there is a color difference where there is another color underneath, it is gold plated.
...Additional information at How to Determine If Your Jewelry Is Gold Plated or Solid Gold
Now that you know how to distinguish if your items are gold plated or not, you can also be able to tell if you have a good investment on your hands.
Solid gold jewelry is made out of a metal composition containing a gold alloy that is spread throughout the jewelry. Gold plated jewelry is a piece of jewelry with an under base of a non-gold metal that is just coated with a gold film.
In order to distinguish if you have jewelry that is plated, you can look to see if it has markings that indicate so. These marking are usually on the inside clasp. Jewelry that is gold plated is usually marked HGP, GEP, GP or HGE. If your jewelry has one of those listed markings it is gold plated. If there are no markings you just have to have jewelry inspect it.
Here's how acid testing works: The jeweler will take some sample material from your jewelry and then apply acid to it to observe if there is a color change, which will indicate what metals the sample contains. Acid testing is used mainly to determine the karat of solid gold jewelry, but it can also indicate whether the piece is plated.
Gold plated jewelry can also be spotted based upon its color. Most plated jewelry is plated in 24 karat gold which means it is extremely yellow in color. Jewelry that contains gold throughout cannot be pure solid 24 karat gold because it could easily be flawed. That is why pieces that contain gold throughout are made with a gold alloy.
A common way to inspect your jewelry is by seeing if the color of your jewelry is the same throughout. If there is a color difference where there is another color underneath, it is gold plated.
...Additional information at How to Determine If Your Jewelry Is Gold Plated or Solid Gold
Now that you know how to distinguish if your items are gold plated or not, you can also be able to tell if you have a good investment on your hands.
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Ever question what exactly is gold plating? Come on over to be informed about gold plating before you invest in some.
posted by Vittoria @ June 02, 2013
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