Gold filled jewelries are jewelry pieces that are made from thin sheets of karat gold which are 10, 12 or 14 karat that are merged with thicker sheets of different base metals like brass or bronze. The gold sheets and thicker sheets of either brass or bronze is created and molded into different sizes with a protective cover.

Gold filled jewelries are cheaper compared to real gold jewelry, but are more expensive than gold plated pieces of jewelries.

Gold filled vs. gold plated

There are many people who get confused on the terms gold-filled and gold-plated. There is also a misconception that gold-plated is more expensive than gold-filled. So, what is the difference between the two?

Gold-filled pieces are more valuable and expensive than gold-plated ones because they have more gold in the pieces or about 100 percent more gold compared to gold plated pieces. Gold filled jewelries contain thicker gold layers than the gold-plated ones and made from better quality of gold.

Jewelries that are gold-filled also use some alloys which make them durable, but this also depends on the gold used based on its karat. Keep in mind that the higher karats are purer, but they are less durable than those with lower karats.

Gold-plated jewelries, on the other hand, are pieces that have an underlying different type of metals, but are covered with a thin layer of gold. The underlying metal is covered with gold through the process of electroplating.

Gold-plated pieces have lesser value than gold-filled pieces, but they also have their advantages or up side. For one, gold-plated jewelries are much durable. Keep in mind that gold is quite soft and as such a piece that has a sturdier piece of metal will last longer.

Gold-plated pieces, however, tarnish and chip-off easily compared to gold-filled pieces.