In our jewelry selection, you will find different coating methods including gold plated, silver plated, rose gold plated, platinum plated and so on.
Gold Plated (Gold tone)
Gold plated jewelry employs a base metal which is then electroplated with gold. Usually a steel or brass item dipped into a bath of electroplating solution that deposits a thin layer of gold on the jewelry. The gold layer is less than gold filled, quite thin and will wear off faster than gold-filled. It is fairly strong, durable, and more affordable than gold filled or solid gold items.
Silver Plated (Silver tone)
Silver plated is also known as silver tone, a thin a layer of silver applied to a base metal, usually by electroplating. Silver plated is often considered the most cost effective alternative to the more expensive forms of solid silver jewelry. That said, this form of silver is very thin and tends to tarnish less quickly, but the plating rubs off over time.
Rose Gold Plated (Rose Gold Tone)
Rose gold plated is a thin layer of rose gold deposed onto the surface of base metal most often copper or silver by electroplating.
Platinum Plated
Platinum plated is a thin layer of platinum placed to a base metal by electroplating.
Gold-filled, Silver-filled and Platinum-filled
It is method of composition of a solid layer of gold, which must constitute at least 5% of the item’s total weight, mechanically bonded to sterling silver or a base metal. The related terms “rolled gold plate” and “gold overlay” may be used if the layer of gold, silver or platinum constitutes less than 5% of the item’s weight. You can think of silver-filled and platinum-filled the same way. It is either a 5% or 10% layer of durable sterling silver bonded to (filled with) a copper-alloy or brass-alloy center.
PVD Coating
Physical Vapor Deposition, or PVD, is a vacuum coating process that produces a brilliant decorative and functional finish. PVD utilizes a titanium nitride that provides an extremely durable coating. PVD coatings are more resistant to corrosion from sweat and regular wear than gold plating. This application is also used on a variety of other popular metal colors for jewelry including silver and rose gold.
Matte Finish
A matte finish puts very fine pits into a metal surface to create a non-reflective surface. It’s more of a satin finish.
Electroplating
The idea is to use electricity to coat a relatively mundane metal, such as copper, with a thin layer of another, more precious metal, such as gold or silver. Electroplating is also known simply as ‘plating’.