What is gold fill, layering and plating?
Gold fill is made up of 1/20th 14kt gold or 5% x .5858 (14kt gold content) to equal 3% actual gold in a gold filled piece. A layer of 14kt gold is put over brass by heat and pressure bonding. Gold filled has an actual layer of gold, while gold plated merely has a microscopic film. Gold vermeil by FTC standards has a 100 millionths of an inch layer of 14kt gold over sterling silver. How is gold made in other colors? With the introduction of various metals to pure gold, the color can be altered. Believe it or not, gold can be yellow, white, rose, purple, green or blue! Here are the most common formulas of how they make yellow, white and rose colored gold. 18kt yellow gold – 75% gold + 12.5% silver + 12.5% copper 14kt yellow gold – 58% gold + 25% silver + 17% copper 18kt white gold – 75% gold + 5% copper + 15% nickel + 5% zinc 14kt white gold – 58% gold + 20% copper + 14.5% nickel + 7.5% zinc 18kt rose gold – 75% gold + 5% silver + 20% copper 14kt rose gold – 58% gold + 10% silver + 32% c
