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. Plated and rolled gold hold too little gold to recover, and gold-filled is not bought as gold in household quantities, though antique pieces can sell as objects. Vermeil is sterling or fine silver under the gilding, so it is bought as silver, and marks such as GP, RG, GF, 1/20 12K GF and “plaqué” identify the rest.
Four constructions that look like gold from the outside
None of these four is a fake. Each has a long history in the trade, and each was sold for what it was. All of them look like carat gold at arm's length, and what matters to a seller 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 from well under a micron (a thousandth of a millimetre) to a few microns thick. HGE, heavy gold electroplate, is thicker but still a coating.
- Rolled gold (RG, RGP, “doublé”, “laminé”)
- 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 weight of the metal in the article that is the gold layer, and the carat states the layer's fineness. 1/20 12K GF means one twentieth of the metal's 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. Most 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 treated as gold at its hallmarked or tested fineness, like anything on selling gold by post.
How each behaves under XRF, magnet and density testing
X-ray fluorescence (XRF) reads only a thin surface layer, a matter of microns, varying with the metal and the instrument. Thin plating is usually thinner than that, so the reading mixes gold with the base metal underneath and matches no carat standard. Thicker rolled and gold-filled layers can be deeper than the reading reaches and look like carat gold, which is why XRF 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 steel, or over a pure nickel layer | As above, with nickel or iron | Pulls (nickel-silver bases do not) | 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 |
On a solid piece, density is usually the most telling non-destructive check for the first four rows, because a brass core cannot be made to weigh like gold. A 9ct alloy is roughly 11 to 12 g per cubic centimetre depending on the other metals in it, 18ct roughly 15 to 16, and brass about 8.4 to 8.7. A piece that reads 18ct on the surface and comes out near 8.5 in the water is not 18ct. Vermeil matches sterling, as it should. On chains and hollow pieces, trapped air lowers the result, so density is read with the construction in mind.
Which of the four has a precious metal underneath
- Gold plated is base metal with a gold coating. 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 lasts longer, but in the quantities a household sends there is too little gold 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 in household quantities. If you have a large quantity, ask before anything is posted; the contact page lists the ways to reach us.
- 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. Of the four, it is the only one we buy for its metal.
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 coating, so there is no gold weight for anything to come off. It is listed as not precious metal, so you can see it arrived, then kept out of the offer and sent back at our cost with anything else you say no to (clauses 11.1 and 6.3 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 usually means a different metal beneath. Neither is proof on its own. Every piece is weighed and checked for its metal before an offer is made; the methods used depend on the piece and are listed on the offer, and the testing page explains them.
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 point of this guide. One of these chains is a precious-metal object and the other is not, and weighing them in the hand will not tell you which. 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 usually settle it. The mark, if you can find it, is quickest.
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. If a piece like a Victorian rolled-gold locket or a gilded Georgian spoon reaches us, we flag it and tell you before any offer that it may be worth more to a specialist, an auction house or a dealer, so you can take it there.
- Posting plated items gains nothing, because they are not bought. If you are sure a piece is plated, leave it out. If you are not sure, include it: anything we do not buy is listed and comes back with the rest, at our cost. Photographs first will usually sort the obvious plate out before you pack.
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 by a known maker in a filled case, running or not, 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, vermeil is bought for its silver, and plated, rolled and filled pieces are not, apart from any solid gold part.
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 XRF is never relied on alone. No analyser is in use here yet; weight, a magnet and density are the checks used, and your offer lists which each piece had.
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 person will look at the same points before you post.
What happens to plated items I send by mistake?
They appear on your offer as not precious metal, with the check that showed it, and come back to you with anything else you turn down, at Assaypost's cost (clauses 11.1 and 6.3 of the terms).
Found a mark you cannot read?
Photograph the stamp close up, in good daylight, holding the piece still. A person reads it and writes back, including what the mark alone cannot tell you.
Nothing is sold until you say yes. Say no and everything comes back by tracked, signed-for post at our cost.
No WhatsApp? Call or text 07369 296063, 6am to 10pm, seven days a week.
When the mark is not the whole story
A stamp can be worn, faked or missing from perfectly good gold. So every piece posted is weighed and checked for its metal as well as read, and the offer lists the methods used.