Gold plating guide

What "14K gold plated" means

A plated piece has a base metal underneath, most often brass on YUJIE jewelry, and a layer of gold on top. The karat names the gold in that layer. The Federal Trade Commission explains that 14K means 14 parts gold mixed with 10 parts other metal, and 18K means 18 parts gold with 6.

So an 18K plated hoop has a slightly richer gold layer than a 14K plated one, and you may see it as a warmer, more yellow shade. Neither is solid gold.

Plated, gold filled and solid gold

The FTC jewelry guides set the words. "Gold plated" needs a layer of at least 10 karat gold named by its karat. "Gold filled" means the gold layer is at least one twentieth of the weight of the piece. "Gold electroplate" needs at least 0.175 microns of fine gold.

Solid gold has no base metal at all, so a solid 14K hoop costs many times more than a plated one of the same size.

Why plating wears, and what slows it

The FTC is plain about it: gold plating eventually wears away, depending on how the piece is worn and how thick the plating is. Friction does most of it, a chain rubbing a collar or a hoop against a phone, and so do chlorine, sweat and the chemicals in lotion and perfume.

Put your pieces on after lotion and perfume, take them off to swim, shower or work out, and store each one in its own pouch. The jewelry care guide goes through it step by step.

If your skin reacts

MedlinePlus lists nickel in jewelry as a common cause of allergic contact dermatitis: an itchy, red rash where the metal touches the skin, which most often appears 24 to 48 hours later. We do not label YUJIE pieces hypoallergenic or nickel-free.

The American Academy of Dermatology suggests that people with a nickel allergy wear jewelry made from metals such as surgical-grade stainless steel, 18-, 22- or 24-karat yellow gold, sterling silver or platinum, and see a board-certified dermatologist for a rash that blisters or keeps coming back.

Finishes in the YUJIE catalog

Counted from our catalog at the latest update. A piece without a plating karat in our data is counted by its tone only.