When purchasing gold jewelry, less costly options exist that give the look of gold without the hefty price. Gold-plated and gold-filled jewelry are two options that feature a base metal and a layer of gold, which gives the appearance of gold but not the price tag.

Gold-filled Jewelry
Gold-filled jewelry uses a technique in which thin layers of gold are bonded by heat and pressure to a brass center. Several layers of a core metal are surrounded by at least 10k gold. Jewelers usually note the ratio of gold to base metals. United States requirements state that gold-filled jewelry must contain no less than 1/20 its weight in gold.

Gold-plated Jewelry
Gold-plated jewelry has a thin molecule of gold overlaying a base metal such as zinc, copper or nickel. This thin layer is not 14k and usually wears off the base within a short period of time. Jewelry makers utilize an electrochemical process to bind the thin layer of gold to the base metal. Gold-plated jewelry may contain varying thicknesses of gold.
Pros and Cons of Gold-filled Jewelry
Gold-filled jewelry lasts much longer than gold-plated jewelry. The gold used is at least 10k gold, unlike gold-plated jewelry, which contains less than 10k gold. The bonding process and layers make the jewelry more durable. If you plan to wear a jewelry piece frequently, you should choose gold-filled over gold-plated. The only drawback is that gold-filled jewelry will be more costly initially.

Pros and Cons of Gold-plated Jewelry
The thin layer of gold-plated jewelry is soft and easily scratched. Therefore, jewelers such as Gem Fashion do not recommend wearing gold-plated jewelry on a frequent basis. Skin oils and the environment eventually wear off the gold layer. However, gold-plated jewelry is less expensive than gold-filled jewelry.

History
Gold jewelry has been popular since the days of ancient Egypt and Greece. Rolled or filled gold experienced popularity during the Victorian era because the gold-filled jewelry was more affordable for the middle class. During the Edwardian era, the popularity of smaller pieces made gold-filled jewelry less popular. A resurgence in popularity occurred during the Retro or Retro Modern period of the 1930s. When the U.S. Department of Commerce began restricting gold-filled jewelry to jewelry with at least 20 percent gold, gold-plated jewelry gained popularity.

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1.Test gold by looking at the "gold" in the sun. Gold should retain its color in the sun as well as the shade. Many metals glitter in the sun, but gold isn't one of them.

2.Stick a sharp needle or pin in the gold. If it fractures or cracks, it isn't gold. Gold is malleable, meaning it can bend and be dented but it doesn't crack easily.

3.Gold is heavy. It will sink to the bottom and stay there. If you are gold panning, a great test is to rock the pan back and forth with some water. Gold should stay at the bottom and not move around much.

4.A sure-fire way to test gold is to wear it on your skin. If your skin turns a greenish color, that isn't gold you are wearing, but more likely another metal with possibly a bit of gold content. A pure gold piece of jewelry will not react with skin.

5.Try running a magnet over the "gold." Precious metals like gold and silver are not magnetic, so if your "gold" is attracted by the magnet, that isn't a good sign. Of course, if it isn't, that doesn't guarantee it is gold. Lots of things are nonmagnetic, like wood.

6.The best way to test gold is to take it into an expert to be tested. Experts have sophisticated acid tests that can determine the exact gold content and tell you the gold price per gram and how much your item is worth.

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There are several ways that gold jewelry is made, and normally the gold content is noted somewhere on the jewelry in a 14K format. There are varying degrees of karats of gold, but by itself, gold as a pure metal is too weak to make jewelry. It is combined with an alloy metal such as nickel to make the metal strong enough to make jewelry. If there is no notation as to the degree of gold in a necklace, there are a few home remedies that you can try to test your gold and see whether it is real.

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Are you looking to make a purchase or sale your gold and want to know if it is authentic. This can be a difficult process but if you follow these easy steps you will know that you are buying the real thing and not waste your money.

1.First thing you should do, which is the gold check must, is put a magnet to the gold and if it sticks you do not have real gold on your hands. Real gold is not magnetic and some of the fake gold substances are made out of this magnetic silver alloy or other metals. Gold Dealers typically use this method first.

2.Next step is to get a 10 times magnifying glass and check the edges and crevices to see any cracking or discolloration as if there were two different surfaces. Gold will not chip and wear becasue it is solid all the way through, however you may have something that is gold plated so you should not discard because it could have real value.

3.The next step is if you happen to be lucky your piece would have been stored in a container because if there is a green or black residue left behind it can be a good sign that you do not have real gold on your hands. Be careful because some rings and watches are ingraved with the 14k gold, 18 karat, and 24k gold but this can just be a stamped in symbol and I have dealt with this many times and is not a good way to judge your product.

Gold plated Tungsten Product Manufacturer & Supplier: Chinatungsten Online - http://paper-weight.cn/
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