Average Grades
View the sheet
Free shipping on orders over 50€ up to 500g
French Online shop for beads and accessories for the creation of DIY jewellery and other creative hobbies
Log-in
0
Shopping cart
Shopping cart
The main difference between gold plating and fine gold plating is the thickness of the applied layer of gold, which must be at least 3 microns to be considered as such. Fine gold plated jewelry, on the other hand, is generally more fragile with less gold, but offers more affordable prices. For gold lovers, the choice between these options will depend on your preferences in terms of durability and budget.
When you're buying jewelry components, you often read Gold finish ,Gold plated or Fine gold plated, but you don't know enough about the differences to be able to choose. We've decided to create this fact sheet to take a closer look at each of these terms, so that you can choose the components best suited to your needs.
For those of you who swear by gold, it's time to be relentless about finishes!
Gold is a precious metal. As for the other denominations (Gold plated, Fine gold plated 24K or Gold plated), these are finishes. In other words, a layer of gold or gilding, of varying thickness, is applied to a base metal.
Gold plating is widely used in jewelry making, but the term is often misused.
It's an alloy of base metals, usually brass, coated with gold (between 14 and 18 carats) using an electrical or chemical process, on a layer at least 3 microns thick.
Gold-plated 925 Sterling Silver is also available.
Gold plating is indeed subject to legislation! To determine the quality of gold-plated jewelry, we look at the number of microns used (thickness of gold applied).
In fact, French law requires a plating thickness of 3 microns of gold to qualify as gold-plated.
A hallmark is not mandatory on gold-plated jewelry, but if one is applied, it will be square.
Gold-plated jewelry is more fragile than pure gold, so it must be cleaned with care and delicacy.
Find all our gold-plated primers and components for your most beautiful jewelry.
Fine gold plated jewelry is covered with a thin layer of gold, but unlike gold plating, the layer of plating is less than 3 microns.
There are no French regulations on plating thickness. Nevertheless, all our Fine gold plated products have a plating thickness of between 0.03 and 1 micron (often called "Flash").
To qualify as Fine gold plated, the plating must be24-carat gold.
As you can see, Fine gold plated 24K jewelry contains less gold and is therefore more fragile to wear. But it's also the lesser thickness of the gold that makes its price attractive.
925 Sterling Silver can also be Fine gold plated.
See all our Fine gold plated primers and components .
Fine gold plated jewelry contains little or no gold (not enough to qualify as fine gold plated).
They are generally alloys of metals similar to gold in their golden yellow color, such as copper or brass.
You'll find Rose Gold, satin gold and matte gold.
See all our gold primers and components.
Jewelry with a Fine gold plated 24Kfinish and gold-plated jewelry are covered with a thin layer of gold. To prevent this layer from fading, we advise you to :
Credits
Perles & Co, Internet & E-Commerce company [12/12/2025] Any reproduction, representation, adaptation, in any form whatsoever, even partial, is prohibited, except for reproduction for private use not intended for collective use, representation in the family circle (art. L 122-5 CPI) and online publishing on condition that the source is mentioned and a link is included to the corresponding page of our site www.perlesandco.com.
