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What does 18k gold plated mean?
There is no doubt that women love jewellery, but today also more and more men decide to wear for example gold bracelets of different kinds. The choice is really great, so everyone can get themselves a piece of nice jewellery that will match their style and price range. However, for centuries gold accessories have been appreciated the most, and nowadays golden rings, necklaces, earrings and bracelets are still very popular among customers around the world. But all those products offered by sellers has different assays, and most of us do not realize what they mean. That is why, we have decided to answer the very common question, constantly asked by buyers, which is: what does 18k gold plated mean?
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Gold jewellery – what should you know about it?
When you are watching news and some kind of experts start the discussion about the prices of gold, they mean the pure elemental gold. But unfortunately, such pure gold cannot be really used to create the jewellery we love so much. That is mainly because such jewellery wouldn’t be good in daily use. Different pieces of jewellery made of pure gold would probably lose their shapes all the time, and what is worse, the stones set in them could get loose and fall out. That is why, people responsible for creating jewellery have decide to use gold alloys.
So, what is an alloy then? It is a combination of two metals, which are firstly melt down and then mixed together. In case of gold, its alloy is created by mixing pure gold with other metals, like silver, tin or copper. And as a matter of fact, almost all jewellery available for sale today is created from gold alloys. So if you decide to buy golden ring, 18k gold plated chains, or some kind of bracelet, you may be sure that it is made of gold alloy as well. But you definitely shouldn’t think about it as a flaw! Such jewellery is still valuable and beautiful, which is the most important matter.
18k gold plated jewellery – what is it?
When you want to buy some Cuban link chains and you see that they are marked as a 18k gold plated, you probably wonder what it means. Well, gold plated jewellery is not made of gold actually. The base metal in that situation is usually a copper or silver, which are much more affordable than any gold alloys. However, gold plated jewellery is made by using electricity or chemicals to deposit a very thin layer of gold over that other base metal. The very important thing about this process is that we can create a golden layer as thin as 1/1000 to 3/1000 of an inch.
But you may still not be sure what does 18k gold plated mean exactly? This kind of assay indicates how much pure gold such piece of jewellery contains. So when you buy 18 karat gold plated ring, chains, necklace or bracelet, it means that the golden layer which covers it contains 75% of pure gold. Of course, you must realise that the layer is really thin, so the fact that there is a lot of pure gold in it, does not dramatically increase its value. However, if someone would ask: is 18k gold plated real gold? The answer is: yes, there is real gold on such jewellery, even if it’s just a thin layer of it.
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Is 18 karat gold plated jewellery worth buying?
There is no doubt that the moment you have read that gold plated jewellery is not made of gold, you’ve started to wonder if it’s worth buying. Of course it depends on your personal needs and expectations. If you want to invest in jewellery some sum of money, you should obviously look for more valuable pieces, made of gold alloys. But for people who just love to wear golden accessories and do not care about their actual value, gold plated earrings, bracelets and necklaces will be just perfect. Especially that they do not cost much and thanks to that you can buy more of them.
Is 18k gold plated real thing? Who cares, when such jewellery looks incredible and is really affordable, so you may easily fill your drawers with it. The best quality accessories of that kind give impression of pure luxury, so if you love golden jewellrey, like earrings or bracelets, it may be the perfect choice. What’s more it can also be a nice gift for a dear friend or member of family who also like to complete their outfit with great looking jewellery.
When it comes to jewellery, your own taste and needs are the most important things. Some people cannot imagine wearing cheaper accessories, even if they do look incredible. While others do not care too much about the quality and high prices of the jewellery they buy. If you want to own a lot of different pieces of golden jewellery, but do not have big sums of money on your bank account, nice looking golden plated products of that kind will be just perfect.
Of course, gold plating has some downsides, which you should be aware of. The golden layer covering the metal tend to fade and tarnish after a while. However, there are some ways to prolong the perfect look of such jewellery, so it can still fulfill its role for a very long time. And customers should also remember that gold plated accessories are made of very durable materials, like copper and silver mentioned before, which means that such pieces of jewellery are also quite resistant.