Beware! Many times, a coating of gold is applied to a much less expensive metal such as nickel or silver. This produces a cheaper piece of jewelry. The gold does eventually wear away exposing the metal underneath. The time it takes for the gold to wear depends on the thickness of the layer. The thicker the coating, the longer the wear.

Todays jewelry items usually have markings indicating the amount and what type of gold was used. For example... A stamped marking on a piece of jewelry which reads 1/ 20  12K G.F. tells me that that piece of jewelry is at least 1/20th 12K gold by weight. The G.F. stands for Gold Filled.

Along with Gold Filled jewelry, you will find Gold Plated jewelry. Typically the gold layer is thinner in gold plated jewelry then in gold filled jewelry.

So, what kind of jewelry should you buy? Solid gold or gold plated / gold filled? Solid gold is more durable. That is your best choice in the jewelry you would wear regularly.

Gold filled and plated gold is for jewelry you may wear just occasionally. Everyday use would eventually diminish the gold layer, exposing the metal below, which could stain your skin or cause an allergic reaction. Ever have your finger turn green from wearing a ring? That ring was most likely gold plated or gold filled.

I have a few brooches I wear that are filled or plated. But, honestly, if I’m buying jewelry, I would rather spend my hard earned money on real solid gold. It’s a good investment and it last forever!

When I buy gold in my store, I won’t take anything less then solid gold. If I see a G.F. or G.P. stamped or no stamp at all, I don’t want it.

But, beware! There are a lot of good knock-offs out there. I have seen very heavy plated / filled gold, stamped 10K or 14K and it turned out not to be solid gold after all.

I will give you some hints to tell fake gold from solid gold in my near future guides. Be sure to add PawnHut to your favorites list to keep up! Thanks for visiting!