Gold vermeil is a gold coating over sterling silver. Gold filled uses a mechanically bonded gold-alloy layer; gold plated describes a surface coating. The layer’s karat never makes the whole item solid gold.
Gold vermeil vs gold plated
Under the US FTC Jewelry Guides, vermeil has a sterling silver base and gold of at least 10K on all significant surfaces. The coating must be reasonably durable and have a minimum thickness throughout equivalent to 2.5 microns of fine gold. Gold plating alone does not specify a sterling base or meet that vermeil definition.
| Construction | Base / layer | What can be valued |
|---|---|---|
| Vermeil | Sterling silver base | Gold coating plus silver alloy |
| Gold plated · GP / GEP | Check the underlying material | Coating mass requires measurement |
| Gold filled · GF | Mechanically applied gold alloy | Use documented layer fraction and karat |
Gold vermeil vs gold filled
Vermeil is defined by its sterling base and gold coating. Gold filled describes a mechanically applied gold-alloy layer and a metal weight ratio. In the FTC examples, a layer of at least 10K that is at least 1/20 of total metal weight may be called gold filled. Rolled gold plate (RGP) or gold overlay can use a 1/40 threshold, or disclose the actual fraction before the karat. A fraction is the alloy layer’s share, not the pure-gold share.
What does 1/20 14K GF mean?
A documented 1/20 layer on 10 g of applicable metal weighs 0.5 g. At 14/24 gold content, that layer contains about 0.2917 g of fine gold before wear or recovery losses. The gold-filled calculator keeps the item weight, fraction and layer karat separate. GP alone supplies no fraction; do not borrow the GF example for it.
What is recoverable from vermeil?
Vermeil contains two precious-metal portions: a sterling silver base and a thin gold coating. Gold thickness alone does not establish coating weight without surface area and composition. Ask a refiner how the coating and base are assayed and paid. Value only confirmed net silver-alloy mass as sterling; do not treat the entire piece as the karat stamped for its gold surface.