When buying jewellery for the first time, it can get a bit confusing with the different numbers and terms that come with every necklace or bracelet.

The terms ‘gold-plated’ and ‘gold-filled’ are standard features in the jewellery world, but what do these actually mean? To help you find the right product for you, we’ve summed up these terms below.

What is Gold-Plated Jewellery?

A gold-plated chain is the best value-for-money option available, making it massively popular in the jewellery world.

When jewellery is gold-plated, it means the product, often made of a strong base metal, is ‘dipped’ in gold, giving it a stunning finish. When done well, gold-plated jewellery looks and feels as authentic as the real thing, but at a much more affordable price.

What is Gold-Filled Jewellery?

Gold-filled jewellery is somewhere between gold-plated and solid gold - it’s a popular choice for more expensive items. Here, jewellery still uses a base metal, and a layer of gold is bonded onto the outside.

The difference for gold-filled is that there are minimum requirements for how thick the outer layer of gold should be. Most gold-filled products need the gold layer to be at least 5% of the total weight to qualify.

Gold-filled jewellery has a thicker outer layer compared to gold-plated. As a result, gold-filled jewellery can take more wear and tear; it will have a longer lifespan and be more tarnish-resistant, but will often cost more than gold-plated.

Karats in Gold-Filled Jewellery

Karats are a common feature in gold jewellery, so it’s important to understand what they mean.

Karat is used to measure the fineness of a gold product out of 24, so 8-karat gold is 8/24 (around 33%) fineness, and 24-karat (kt) gold is as fine as you can get.

When used in gold-filled jewellery, karat applies to the fineness of the outer layer of gold, not the product as a whole. So, a 16kt gold-filled necklace will usually be made of 5% 16kt gold outer layer.

Can You Tell the Difference Between Gold Plated, Filled and Solid Jewellery?

The most important thing for the wearer is that the final product looks as genuine as possible. In reality, there is no discernable difference in the appearance of gold-plated and filled jewellery.

Here at Bling King, we have refined our range to deliver the best gold-plated jewellery on the market. Manufactured by experts, our chains not only look but feel like something worth thousands of pounds.

All of our jewellery comes with a 30-day money-back guarantee and a one year warranty, so there’s nothing to lose by trying our wares out for yourself! Browse our best sellers today and pick up something that’s not only stylish but also impressive.