When it comes down to gold jewelry and you are thinking about selling it for the gold price, you want to make sure that your jewelry is solid gold and not gold plated. Gold plated jewelry just has a coating of gold on the outside while underneath is a different type of metal. This gold plated jewelry will not leave you happy when it comes to money if you did not check first to see if it was solid gold or not.
Let's first start by actually stating the difference between gold plated jewelry and sold gold jewelry. Gold plated jewelry is composed of a non-gold metal that is covered with a film of gold. As far as solid gold jewelry goes, it is an item that has a gold alloy throughout it.
Looking at gold markings is one of the fastest ways to establish what your jewelry is made of. The most common stamp used in gold-plated jewelry is GP (standing for "gold plated"). You could also see GEP, which means "gold electroplated" and RGP (meaning "rolled gold plate"). HGE (for "heavy gold electroplate") is another mark that indicates gold plating (you can also see HGP, which has the same meaning). Please note that not having such markings does not mean that your jewelry is solid gold: It may simply not be stamped despite being plated.
Here's how acid testing works: The jeweler will take some sample material from your jewelry and then apply acid to it to observe if there is a color change, which will indicate what metals the sample contains. Acid testing is used mainly to determine the karat of solid gold jewelry, but it can also indicate whether the piece is plated.
You can also tell gold plated jewelry apart from solid jewelry items based upon the color. Gold plated jewelry is usually covered in 24 karat gold. Pieces that are gold throughout cannot be pure 24 karat gold by itself because it is too soft and could be flawed easily.
To easily tell if you have a piece of jewelry that is gold plated, you can look at the color and see if it is worn to where the gold plating is coming off. If so you will see a different color metal underneath.
...Learn more at How to Determine If Your Jewelry Is Gold Plated or Solid Gold
From this information you should now be able to tell if your jewelry is solid gold or not. If your jewelry is solid gold then you should have no problem when selling it for the gold value and getting some good money back.
Let's first start by actually stating the difference between gold plated jewelry and sold gold jewelry. Gold plated jewelry is composed of a non-gold metal that is covered with a film of gold. As far as solid gold jewelry goes, it is an item that has a gold alloy throughout it.
Looking at gold markings is one of the fastest ways to establish what your jewelry is made of. The most common stamp used in gold-plated jewelry is GP (standing for "gold plated"). You could also see GEP, which means "gold electroplated" and RGP (meaning "rolled gold plate"). HGE (for "heavy gold electroplate") is another mark that indicates gold plating (you can also see HGP, which has the same meaning). Please note that not having such markings does not mean that your jewelry is solid gold: It may simply not be stamped despite being plated.
Here's how acid testing works: The jeweler will take some sample material from your jewelry and then apply acid to it to observe if there is a color change, which will indicate what metals the sample contains. Acid testing is used mainly to determine the karat of solid gold jewelry, but it can also indicate whether the piece is plated.
You can also tell gold plated jewelry apart from solid jewelry items based upon the color. Gold plated jewelry is usually covered in 24 karat gold. Pieces that are gold throughout cannot be pure 24 karat gold by itself because it is too soft and could be flawed easily.
To easily tell if you have a piece of jewelry that is gold plated, you can look at the color and see if it is worn to where the gold plating is coming off. If so you will see a different color metal underneath.
...Learn more at How to Determine If Your Jewelry Is Gold Plated or Solid Gold
From this information you should now be able to tell if your jewelry is solid gold or not. If your jewelry is solid gold then you should have no problem when selling it for the gold value and getting some good money back.
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