When jewelry is sterling silver & overlayed with gold plate does the gold eventually wear away?

Answer 1

You would have either a gold-plated or a Vermeil piece. The difference is dependent on the thickness of the gold-plating on the silver.

The FTC (Federal Trade Commission) has set standards for Vermeil. It must be at least 100 millionths of an inch of gold layered (plated) over sterling silver. It must meet this standard or it can be referred to only as "gold-plated."

Both gold-plated and Vermeil are considered impermanent, transitory finishes to jewelry. They will both wear off.

However, if your really like the piece of jewelry, it is a relatively simple and inexpensive process to have a jeweler replate the piece when needed.

Answer 2

The gold does not wear away as quick as it used to years ago. The technology has been improved over the years.
Gold filled, gold overlay: A layer of 10K gold or better can be mechanically bonded to all significant surfaces. The layer of gold must be at least 1/20th of the total metal weight or it cannot be described as gold filled (typical mark 1/20th 12K GF or 12 Karat Gold Filled).
Gold plate, rolled gold plate: This is the same as gold filled except the quantity of karat gold may be less than 1/20th of the total metal weight (typical mark 1/40th 12K RGP).
Gold electroplate: An electrolytic process where a coating of gold of not less than 10K fineness, with a minimum thickness equivalent to 7 millionths of an inch.
Vermeil: Gold with a minimum fineness of 10K mechanically bonded or electroplated over a base of sterling silver, with a thickness of gold at least 120 millionths of an inch.

Answer 3

Yep, especially rings, the part seen on the inside of your hand
always seems to wear away first. It's a bummer, I have a couple
of cute rings that I quit wearing because of the silver showing
thru. I seem to recall in grade school science class one of
the teachers did a demo on electroplating and use a lantern
battery, some solution and a real gold ring to plate a coin.
It would be neat to be able to re-plate those rings.

Answer 4

sure does. gold wears away a lot easier than other metals. golds that are lower in karat (10k and 14k is, in my opinion, the best) last longer and don't bend as easily because it isn't as pure as 24k gold, which is weaker, because 10k gold has other metals in it to strengthen it.... so... in this way, i think, being cheap sometimes has a benefit.... in this case, you get a stronger product, depending. my promise ring (that i now wear on my right hand... i got a platinum engagement ring for my left hand now) is 10k white gold, and i only had one problem with it... i had to open the hood of my car to look and make sure it was ok... and when i slammed the hood shut, the bottom of my ring was bent flat... so i had to take it to a jeweler to get that looked at... my platinum ring has been through a bit, and it's in great condition, althought it does start to get scratched and you have to polish it often.

Answer 5

I have worked in Jewelry for almost 10 yrs and I can tell you that Overlay jewelry can last a lifetime if you wear it only seldomly and never ever bathe in it.

Answer 6

yes it does but it is still a very pretty peice and if it is not worn every day it will stay gold for a long time. Besides the peice is still very pretty that I've had for over 10 years.

Answer 7

it can if it is not done properly. Plating is usually done chemicaly in which the item to be plated is placed in an ion bath and then placed in the fluid to be plated with this results in a perminent bond between the two metals.

Answer 8

yes, i learned thru experience that the gold eventually did wear off in places so it looked really cheap. i ended up tossing the necklace out and bought something else in it's place.
soooo buyer beware !!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Answer 9

yes....some with more coats may take longer to wear away....

Answer 10

yes it does