What is 18k gold plated jewelry?

When deciding to purchase some Cuban link chains and you see that they are labeled as an 18k gold plated, you start to wonder what it means. To start, gold plated jewelry is not made of gold actually. The base metal is usually a copper or silver, which are much more affordable than any gold alloys. However, gold plated jewelry is created by using electricity or chemicals to place a very thin layer of gold over that other base metal. The key thing about this process is that we can create a golden layer as thin as 1/1000 to 3/1000 of an inch.

Still not be sure what does 18k gold plated mean exactly? This indicates how much pure gold a piece of jewelry contains. So when you buy 18 karat gold plated ring, chains, necklace, or bracelet, it means that the golden layer which covers it contains 75% of pure gold. Of course, you have to realize that the layer is really thin, so the fact that there is a lot of pure gold in it does not really increase its value. But, if someone would ask: is 18k gold plated real gold? The answer is: yes, there is real gold on plated jewelry, even if it’s just a thin layer of it.