Jewelry material: Gold-filled

What is Gold-Filled?

Gold-filled is a United States layered gold product that is gaining popularity throughout the Americas, Asia and Europe. It is a quality material that is common in all types of jewelry. The product is easy to care for and will usually maintain its golden shine for a lifetime.

Gold-filled is constructed in two or three layers. The core metal is jewelers’ brass. A gold alloy is then bonded to one or both surfaces of the brass core with heat and pressure. The bonded raw material is then sold as sheet or wire to jewelry manufacturers for use in designs.

Gold-filled is legally required to contain 5% or 1/20 gold by weight. This 5% is then described by the karatage of the gold alloy. Most gold-filled is 12kt or 14kt gold-filled. It is most accurately labeled with the karatage, the “/” symbol, and then 20 to reflect this construction. Products are identified as 14/20 Gold-filled or 12/20 Gold-Filled; alternatively, 14kt Gold-Filled or 12kt Gold-Filled are also acceptable.

Care and Cleaning
Gold-filled does not de-laminate or peel like plated products. Nor does it tarnish as readily as silver. Many owners find that they never have to clean gold-filled items at all. However, from time to time your jewelry may become dirty from everyday wear. To clean gold-filled it is best to use mild soap and water. Hot weather and water will not damage the material.

Gold-filled cannot be melted because it is a layered product. Similarly, exposure to chemicals or acids will damage the gold layers and erode the product’s integrity. Gold-filled is not recommended in extremely humid environments where there are also high levels of pollutants in the air. This is not a problem in any US states we know of, but we have had reported problems in South-Central Mexico and parts of Asia.

Comparison with Other Gold Products
Solid Gold – Solid gold is an alloy that is described with the karatage of pure gold. Pure gold is 24kt. However, it is much too soft to hold its shape or wear well. Therefore, it is mixed or alloyed with other metals to make it harder and easier to work with. Karatage refers to the alloy’s purity. For example, 8 karat gold is 8/24 pure gold or 33.3% pure. Gold-filled is not the same as solid gold. It is a layered alternative product. The gold-filled karatage only refers to the gold layers that compose 5% of the product on the surface.

Gold Plate – Gold plating is a miniscule layer of solid gold applied to a brass base. The plating does not compose any measurable proportion of the products total weight. It is estimated to be 0.05% or less of the metal product. Gold plating will wear off rather quickly and expose the brass base product. It does not stand up to heat, water or wear over time.

Online store review: FabulousRocks

As an etsy seller, I like to support the etsy community and I always get my jewelry supplies from other etsy sellers. Not only do you get better prices by buying directly from suppliers, you are also supporting small artisan businesses, which is always a good thing to do. Recently, however, I found that some commercial sellers have been abusing their customers. They receive so many orders on a daily basis, that they begin ignoring customer requests, delaying shipment and worst of all - terrible customer service. I am not trying to bad mouth anyone, but I feel that we shouldn't be supporting sellers who do not respect customers or are not providing the services that they're supposed to provide, especially in the Etsy community.

This seller whom I used to order from, Fabulous Rocks, is one of those sellers that I refuse to do business with again. I started ordering from them about` a year ago. I decided to do business with them because they offer great prices and superb quality gemstones and findings. Their prices are very competitive and I haven't yet found another seller who can beat their prices. In the beginning when they were still relatively new, the service was great and I would always get prompt replies from the seller. They were patient and willing to answer my questions. They also seemed knowledgeable about their products.

As their sales started to pick up, everything just went down hill. There were so  many times when I had to wait for more than a month for my supplies to arrive. Whenever I write to the seller, it takes days to hear back from them and their attitude might not be very good. There is nothing wrong with the quality of the products, but it's the customer service that really pushes me away. The long waiting time also makes me feel insecure. I cannot count on them at all because the processing time takes way too long. I swear to myself, I am going to look for alternative suppliers. Even if I have to pay more, I'd rather do business with someone who is trustworthy and genuinely nice. I just don't see any difference between this seller and any corporate monopoly.