Behind a piece of gold-coloured jewellery lie several techniques, and they are not all equal \u2014 in brilliance, in lifespan or in price. Here is what you need to choose with full knowledge, and to spot the shortcuts.<\/p>\n
A thin layer of gold is deposited on a base metal, most often brass, in an electric bath. It is the most widespread technique, and the most affordable. Everything depends on thickness: the more generous the layer, the longer the piece keeps its brilliance. In France, regulated designations require at least three microns of gold; below that, it is simply called gold-tone metal, and the gilding wears more quickly.<\/p>\n
This is solid sterling silver (925) covered with a layer of gold at least three microns thick. The advantage is twofold: a core of precious metal and a generous gilding. Rarer and more costly than simple gilding, vermeil is a fine step before solid gold.<\/p>\n
Here, a much thicker layer of gold is bonded mechanically to the metal, under pressure and heat. The result: excellent resistance to daily wear, greater than electroplated gilding. It is the ideal finish for a piece worn every day, even in contact with water or perspiration.<\/p>\n
For an everyday piece, favour gold-filled or a thick gilding. For a piece worn only for grand occasions, a fine gilding offers the brilliance you are looking for at the right price \u2014 it is the most common choice for ceremonial jewellery sets. The only rule worth keeping: always ask which finish it is, and set aside promises that rest on nothing.<\/p>\n
Whatever the finish: keep it away from damp, perfume and abrasive products, and wipe it with a soft cloth after wearing. Avoid sleeping or showering in your gold-tone jewellery. Stored in a pouch, away from the air, well-treated gold-tone jewellery can be passed on.<\/p>\n
Ready to put it into practice? Discover our handmade jewellery<\/a>, or read our guide to recognise a true artisan piece<\/a>.<\/p>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Three finishes, three lifespans. The guide to choosing gold-tone jewellery that ages well.<\/p>","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":184,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"site-sidebar-layout":"default","site-content-layout":"","ast-site-content-layout":"default","site-content-style":"default","site-sidebar-style":"default","ast-global-header-display":"","ast-banner-title-visibility":"","ast-main-header-display":"","ast-hfb-above-header-display":"","ast-hfb-below-header-display":"","ast-hfb-mobile-header-display":"","site-post-title":"","ast-breadcrumbs-content":"","ast-featured-img":"","footer-sml-layout":"","ast-disable-related-posts":"","theme-transparent-header-meta":"","adv-header-id-meta":"","stick-header-meta":"","header-above-stick-meta":"","header-main-stick-meta":"","header-below-stick-meta":"","astra-migrate-meta-layouts":"default","ast-page-background-enabled":"default","ast-page-background-meta":{"desktop":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-5)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"tablet":{"background-color":"","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"mobile":{"background-color":"","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""}},"ast-content-background-meta":{"desktop":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-4)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"tablet":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-4)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"mobile":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-4)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""}},"wpai_generated_summary":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-241","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/hk-handmade.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/241","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/hk-handmade.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/hk-handmade.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/hk-handmade.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/hk-handmade.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=241"}],"version-history":[{"count":5,"href":"https:\/\/hk-handmade.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/241\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":1023,"href":"https:\/\/hk-handmade.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/241\/revisions\/1023"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/hk-handmade.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/184"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/hk-handmade.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=241"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/hk-handmade.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=241"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/hk-handmade.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=241"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}