Guide · 8 minute read
Gold plated, rolled gold, gold-filled and vermeil compared
The short answer
Gold plated, rolled gold and gold-filled items are base metal with a layer of gold on the outside. Vermeil is different: it is sterling or fine silver with a gold layer over it, so the body of the piece is a precious metal and the gilding is decoration. That is the distinction that matters. A plated or rolled-gold piece has no gold worth recovering, because the layer is so thin. A gold-filled piece does hold a stated, small share of carat gold bonded to brass, but separating the two costs more than it returns on a household quantity. Vermeil is bought as the silver it is. Marks such as GP, RG, GF, 1/20 12K GF and “plaqué” identify these pieces, and a density check, a magnet and a surface test confirm what the mark says.
No obligation. Decline and it all comes back free; ask for part of it back and a fresh offer is made for the rest.
Four constructions that look like gold from the outside
None of these four is a fake. Each has a long, respectable history in the trade, and each was sold for what it was. The trouble for a seller is that all of them look like carat gold at arm's length, and what matters is what lies under the surface. The definitions below are the ones used when a piece is described on an offer.
- Gold plated (GP, GEP, HGE)
- A base metal, usually brass, copper or a nickel alloy, coated by electroplating with a gold layer that is typically well under a micron to a few microns thick. HGE, heavy gold electroplate, is thicker but still a coating.
- Rolled gold (RG, “plaqué or”, “doublé”)
- A sheet of carat gold bonded to a base-metal core by heat and pressure, then rolled to thickness. The gold layer is thicker than plating and wears better, but is still a small fraction of the piece.
- Gold-filled (GF, 1/20 12K GF, 1/10 14K GF)
- Rolled gold made to a declared standard. The fraction states the share of the item's total weight that is the gold layer, and the carat states the layer's fineness. 1/20 12K GF means one twentieth of the weight is 12ct gold.
- Vermeil
- Sterling or fine silver with a gold layer applied over it. The body is a precious metal and the coating is decorative. The Assay Offices' guidance says gold-plated silver articles are hallmarked as silver.
One thing that is not on this list is white gold. Nearly all white gold is rhodium plated to make it whiter, and the rhodium wears off the shank over time. That is a solid carat gold piece with a decorative coating, not a plated one, and it is priced as gold at its hallmarked or tested fineness.
How each behaves under XRF, magnet and density testing
X-ray fluorescence (XRF) reads the outer tens of microns of a piece. Thin plating is usually thinner than that, so the analyser sees gold and base metal together and reports something like gold 12 per cent, copper 60, zinc 25, which matches no carat standard. Thicker rolled and gold-filled layers can be deeper than the beam reaches and read as clean carat gold, which is why the test is never used alone. The XRF guide explains the depth limit.
Typical test behaviour of plated, rolled, filled and vermeil items
| Construction | XRF on surface | Magnet | Density | Other signs |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Gold plated on brass or copper | Low gold with high copper and zinc; base metal shows through | No pull unless the base is nickel or steel | Close to brass, around 8.5 | Wear at edges shows a different colour; green or dark marks on skin |
| Gold plated on nickel or steel | As above, with nickel or iron | Pulls | Well below any gold alloy | Often costume jewellery, watch cases, clasps |
| Rolled gold | Can read as carat gold if the layer is thick | No pull unless the core is steel | Close to brass; far below carat gold | Cut edges, drilled holes and worn spots show a core of a different colour |
| Gold-filled | Usually reads as the marked carat on an intact surface | No pull | Close to brass | Marked with a fraction and carat; edges show the core |
| Vermeil | Reads as gold on an intact surface, silver where worn | No pull | Around 10.3 to 10.4, matching sterling | Silver hallmark; silver colour at wear points; may tarnish where the gold has gone |
Density is the decisive non-destructive check for the first four rows, because a brass core cannot be made to weigh like gold. A 9ct alloy is around 11 g per cubic centimetre and 18ct around 15 to 16; brass is around 8.5. A piece that reads 18ct on the surface and comes out near 8.5 in the water is not 18ct. Vermeil matches sterling, which is exactly what it should do.
Which of the four has a precious metal underneath
- Gold plated is base metal with a decoration on it. The gold across a whole plated chain adds up to a fraction of a gram, and getting it off means dissolving the coating chemically. What is underneath is brass or copper. Assaypost does not buy plated items, and where your photographs show plating, you are told before you post rather than after.
- Rolled gold is the same answer for a thicker layer. It wears better and it lasts longer, but in the quantities a household sends there is nothing in it to recover.
- Gold-filled does hold gold, in a stated share of the weight, bonded to a brass core. Recovering it means refining a mixed feed, and on a few pieces the work costs more than it returns, so gold-filled items are not bought as gold as a matter of course. A large quantity is a different conversation: ask through the contact page before anything is posted.
- Vermeil is silver, and it is bought as silver. The gilding is ignored, and the piece is treated exactly as it would be without it. This is the one construction of the four where posting it is worth your time.
Why plating is set aside rather than deducted
Some sellers expect a plated piece to be treated as a gold one with something taken off for the base metal. It is the other way round. The piece is base metal with a decoration on it, so there is no gold weight for anything to come off. It is listed as not precious metal, so you can see it arrived, left out of the offer, and returned with anything else you decline (clause 11.1 of the terms).
Marks and signs that identify plated, rolled, filled and vermeil items
Manufacturers mark these products, because the mark is what separates a rolled-gold watch case sold as such from one passed off as solid. Look inside clasps, on the back of pendants, inside ring shanks and on the inside of watch case backs.
Marks commonly found on non-solid gold items
| Mark | Meaning |
|---|---|
| GP, G.P., GEP, HGE, HGP | Gold plated or gold electroplated; HGE is heavy gold electroplate |
| RG, R.G., RGP | Rolled gold or rolled gold plate |
| GF, G.F., 1/20 12K GF, 1/10 14K GF, 1/20 14K GF | Gold-filled to the fraction and carat stated |
| Plaqué, plaqué or, doublé, doublé or | French and continental terms for plated or rolled gold; a number of microns sometimes follows |
| Vermeil, 925 with a gold colour, sterling hallmark on a gold-coloured item | Gilded silver; priced as silver |
| 18K on a very light item with no hallmark | Not itself a plating mark, but a warning sign; solid 18ct is heavy for its size |
Beyond the marks, weight is the first clue. Solid carat gold is dense, and a chain that feels light for its length is usually plated or hollow. Colour at the wear points is the second.
Link tips, the underside of a clasp and the edges of a shank wear first, and a different colour there means a different metal beneath. Neither is proof, which is why the testing procedure combines them with instruments.
Two chains that look identical, taken apart
Put a gold-plated chain and a vermeil one on the same tray and nobody separates them by eye. They are the same colour, the same weight class and the same everyday object. Everything that distinguishes them is either inside the metal or stamped somewhere small.
A gold-plated chain and a vermeil chain, checked side by side
| Check | Gold plated on brass | Vermeil over sterling |
|---|---|---|
| Mark, if any | GP, GEP or HGE near the clasp, or nothing at all | A silver hallmark or a bare 925, sometimes hidden under the gilding |
| XRF on an intact surface | Gold with a lot of copper and zinc showing through, matching no carat standard | Gold on the surface; silver where the gilding has worn |
| XRF at the worn link tips | Brass | Silver |
| Magnet | No pull unless the base is nickel or steel | No pull |
| Density | Around brass | Around sterling |
| Colour at the wear points | Yellow-pink brass, sometimes green marks on skin | White silver, sometimes tarnished where the gold has gone |
| What it is | A base-metal chain with a decoration | A silver chain with a decoration |
That last row is the whole guide. One of these chains is a precious-metal object and the other is not, and no amount of weighing changes which is which. That is why a photograph of the clasp and the worn links, sent before anything is posted, is the most useful picture you can take.
Gold-filled sits between the two and is the construction most likely to fool a quick look. A 1/20 12K GF chain carries a real, bonded layer of 12ct gold over a brass core, thick enough that a surface reading can look like solid carat gold. Weight against size, the cut edge of a link and a density check settle it, and the mark itself, if you can find it, settles it fastest.
Seller risks and exceptions
- A thickly gold-filled piece can read as solid carat gold on a surface test. A buyer who prices it as solid and finds the core later may withdraw the offer after you have posted. Photographs of the mark and the worn edges, sent first, let a suspected filled piece be flagged before it travels.
- Heavy gilding over sterling can hide a silver hallmark under the gold. If you can see a 925 or a lion passant on a gold-coloured piece, photograph it; it means silver value.
- Rolled-gold watch cases and spectacle frames sometimes have one solid gold part, such as a bezel or a bridge. Where that is so, the solid part is bought and the rest is not.
- Some plated pieces carry real gemstones. Assaypost buys neither loose gemstones nor plated pieces, so a plated piece comes back to you whole with its stones still set. A plated setting with a good stone is usually worth more to a jeweller intact.
- Antique rolled gold and vermeil can be worth more to a collector than as metal. A Victorian rolled-gold locket or a gilded Georgian spoon should be looked at as an object before anything is priced.
- Posting plated items gains nothing. The label is prepaid, but it still costs you a trip to the counter and sends the pieces on a return journey for nothing. Send photos first and post only what has been identified as precious metal.
When not to use the scrap route
Plated and filled items are sometimes worth more as objects than as metal
Most of these pieces hold little or no precious metal, so what they are worth lies in what they are. Think of a branded costume piece, a signed vintage rolled-gold bracelet, a watch that runs in a filled case, or vermeil by a known silversmith. If a piece carries a maker's name or is clearly old, sell it as an object, through a dealer or at auction. Sent here, only the silver in vermeil counts, and nothing in the rest.
The gold watches page explains how filled and plated watch cases are handled, and the sell silver page covers vermeil and other gilded silver in more detail.
Questions sellers ask
Is gold-plated jewellery worth anything as scrap?
No, and it is better to know that before you post anything. The gold layer is a small fraction of a gram spread over a base-metal piece and cannot be recovered economically. Assaypost does not buy plated items, and where your photographs show plating, you are told before you post.
What does 1/20 12K GF mean?
It means the piece is gold-filled, with one twentieth of its total weight as a bonded layer of 12ct gold. On a 20 g piece that is nominally 1 g of 12ct gold bonded to 19 g of brass, and the fraction is a manufacturing minimum on a new piece, so wear takes some of it away. The gold is real and it is not worth separating from a household quantity.
Is vermeil worth anything?
Yes, as silver. Vermeil is sterling or fine silver with a gold coating, and it is treated exactly as the same piece would be without the gilding. If you can see a 925 mark or a lion passant on something gold-coloured, that is silver underneath and it is worth including.
Can XRF tell the difference between plated and solid gold?
Often, but not always. Thin plating usually shows base metal in the reading; thick rolled or filled layers can read as solid carat gold, so weight, a magnet and density are used alongside XRF before a piece is priced.
How can I tell at home whether my chain is plated?
Look for GP, RG, GF, HGE or a fraction such as 1/20 near the clasp, check for a different colour at worn edges, and compare the weight with a known solid piece of similar size. None of these is proof on its own, but together they usually settle it. Send photos first and a handler will check the same points before you post.
What happens to plated items I send by mistake?
They are listed on your offer as not precious metal, with the test evidence, left out of the offer, and returned to you with anything else you decline, at Assaypost's cost (clause 11.1 of the terms).
Ready to ask about yours?
Send photographs and a person will tell you what the marks suggest, what looks plated, and whether anything ought to be seen by a specialist first. Free, in writing, no obligation.
Nothing is sold until you say yes. Decline and it all comes back by tracked post, free; ask for part of it back and a fresh offer is made for the rest.
If a piece is worth more than its metal
A signed brooch, a date-run sovereign, a watch that still runs, a piece of early silver: anything that looks worth more whole is flagged to you before it is treated as metal, and you can take it back at that point.