FINE JEWELRY
All about Vermeil
While you shop for gold jewelry, you may come across the word vermeil. 10k
vermeil, 14k vermeil, or rose gold vermeil. The French phenomenon
pronounced ‘ver-may’ is what everyone’s talking about in the world of
trendy gold jewelry. Vermeil is a type of gold just like gold plated,
gold-filled, and solid gold. Terminology can be confusing as all four
types have a gold layer on its surface. We’ve broken it down for you.
So what's the difference between gold plated and gold vermeil?
Gold vermeil contains a much thicker layer of gold than gold-plated
jewelry. Jewelry that is gold-plated only requires the gold layer to
be 0.5 microns thick, which is super thin! The plating process is
similar to vermeil, however, the base is a more affordable metal
like copper. Vermeil is much less likely to fade, tarnish, or wear
down.
Shop Engraved Dot Bracelet in Gold Vermeil >
Let's get the science out of the way first!
Gold vermeil uses Sterling Silver as a base metal, this means your
jewelry is made from only precious metals. Sterling Silver consists
of 92.5% pure silver and 7.5% other materials like brass or copper.
A thick layer of gold is then electroplated over the sterling silver
base.
An electric current is used to bind the gold and silver together. When making vermeil jewelry, the gold layer is required to be at least 2.5 microns thick. The gold must also carry a karat weight of 10 or above, but what does that even mean?
In jewelry, karats (k) are used to measure the solid gold content which can be 10k, 14k, 18k, or 24k. (Not to be confused with carats (c), which are used to measure physical diamond weight.) 10k is the lowest solid gold alloy that can be used. At Oak and Luna, we use 18k gold in our vermeil jewelry.18k gold contains 75% gold and 25% other metal, usually copper or silver. SHOP Compass Necklace with Diamond >
An electric current is used to bind the gold and silver together. When making vermeil jewelry, the gold layer is required to be at least 2.5 microns thick. The gold must also carry a karat weight of 10 or above, but what does that even mean?
In jewelry, karats (k) are used to measure the solid gold content which can be 10k, 14k, 18k, or 24k. (Not to be confused with carats (c), which are used to measure physical diamond weight.) 10k is the lowest solid gold alloy that can be used. At Oak and Luna, we use 18k gold in our vermeil jewelry.18k gold contains 75% gold and 25% other metal, usually copper or silver. SHOP Compass Necklace with Diamond >
Two down, one to go
At Oak and Luna, we don’t work with gold-filled, but we do sell
solid gold pieces. Solid gold is a bit of a misleading label...it
sounds like something is completely made of gold which would make it
way too soft. Our beautiful solid gold pieces are made from 14k
gold. This means our pieces are 14 parts gold and the rest is other
metals. Solid gold is the most expensive of our three options.
SHOP Tyra Initial Medallion Necklace >
Take care
Vermeil is a great durable option. But caring is key! We recommend
removing vermeil jewelry while showering, cleaning, swimming, using
lotion/perfume, and working out. If you think your vermeil is
starting to tarnish, gently rub your piece with a soft cloth and it
should start to shine.
xx,
Oak and Luna SHOP Shop Gold Vermeil Jewelry >
xx,
Oak and Luna SHOP Shop Gold Vermeil Jewelry >