For example, heavy-plated jewelry may last longer than fine-plated jewelry. Gold-plated jewelry lasts approximately two years before gold plating starts to tarnish and wear out. However, the lifespan of the items depends on their maintenance and care. According to Rong, you should be able to maintain high-quality gold-plated jewelry for up to five years with proper care.
And if it starts to discolor, you can restore your favorite pieces by learning to fix the ones that tarnish or making them look like new again by plating them again. The average lifespan of gold-plated pieces is two years. After that, gold-plated jewelry tarnishes and starts to wear out. Depending on how well you maintain your jewelry collection, this period may vary.
You can take the jewelry to a jeweler to be re-plated in case it starts to lose its gold plating. The good news is that, with proper care, gold-plated jewelry will last up to a year or more. However, we can give a rough estimate. On average, most gold-plated jewelry will last for up to years with regular use.
Solid gold jewelry, whether made of white or yellow gold, will not damage the metal, but it will dull its brilliance. Keep in mind that, unlike solid gold jewelry, where gold alloy is the only metal component of jewelry, so its wear is slow, plated jewelry usually has a very thin outer layer of gold, and this micron thick layer of gold will wear out easily, especially when exposed to adverse environmental conditions. The best and best way to make your gold-plated jewelry last longer is to make sure that you wear it only when needed. It's cheaper to buy the plated version, although you may need to replace or change the coating on the gold pieces.
The most popular metals that jewelers plat gold on are sterling silver, surgical or normal stainless steel, and copper. Knowing the best way to store your favorite necklaces or earrings is just as important as knowing how to clean your gold-plated jewelry. It often takes about two years for gold-plated jewelry to show signs of tarnishing, especially if you take good care of this plated jewelry. Plated jewelry tends to be quite fragile, but the rate of wear will also depend on how thin the gold layer is.
Gold-plated jewelry only contains a layer of gold on a base metal, such as brass or sterling silver, and like anything else that is coated, gold-plated jewelry wears out. The affordability of gold-plated jewelry is also because the brass or other base metals used are cheap. You can give your child the look of solid gold jewelry without the stress of losing or damaging it. And since they're much cheaper than solid gold jewelry, gold-plated chains would be a preferable option if you need gold jewelry on a tight budget.
If you're looking for good quality gold jewelry but can't afford solid gold jewelry, gold-plated jewelry may be a great option for you. That said, there are no specific rules about the need to seal gold-plated jewelry and most gold-plated jewelry will not have any distinguishing marks. Most gold-plated jewelry is plated with 14-karat gold in a fine-micron layer plated on top of sterling silver, but cheaper gold-plated pieces are usually made of brass as the base metal.