How many microns of gold do I need?

[Inanegal]

Hi everyone,

I've made some silver stud earrings and I'd like to get them gold plated. How many microns of gold do you think is neccessary for such an item? I've had several pieces plated in the past and I never really know what thickness to ask for.

Any guidance gratefully received!

Nina

[Goldsmith]

Hi Nina,

In standard terms, heavy gold plating refers to items that have between 2.5 microns up to 5 microns of gold plating. Standard gold plating is usually about 0.5 to 1 micron. But bear in mind there is no way that you are going to be able to measure your ear studs to see if you have got what you paid for. Have in mind that a twenty pound note is 0.10mm.thick, which is 100 microns thick as I micron = 0.001mm. or 0.000001metre.

James

[Inanegal]

Thanks, James. You're right, it's difficult to tell what you're getting when you have plating done. And impossible to measure! I think I may ask for 2 microns and hope that it is sufficient to last for a while.

Nina

[medusa]

Hi Nina,

In standard terms, heavy gold plating refers to items that have between 2.5 microns up to 5 microns of gold plating. Standard gold plating is usually about 0.5 to 1 micron. But bear in mind there is no way that you are going to be able to measure your ear studs to see if you have got what you paid for. Have in mind that a twenty pound note is 0.10mm.thick, which is 100 microns thick as I micron = 0.001mm. or 0.000001metre.

James

I'm interested in this as I'm thinking of having something gold plated.

If you pay a company for 5 microns, presumably they can tell if it has had that amount? Are they likely to short change a customer?

[silken]

If you want to sell the earrings and describe them as 'vermeil' (gold plated silver), the gold layer will need to be at least 2.5 microns. This is, compared to most commercial plated jewellery, a nice thick plate and quite hard wearing.

I know nothing about the process of measuring the thickness of the plate but I plate my own jewellery with a little pen electroplating kit and I love it! It would be nice to know how thick the layer of gold is though :)

[Inanegal]

If you want to sell the earrings and describe them as 'vermeil' (gold plated silver), the gold layer will need to be at least 2.5 microns.

That's interesting; I didn't know that fact about vermeil. Thanks, Silken.

[ShinyLauren]

I went into Elliot Fitzpatrick platers in London on Friday to get some quotes. They recommended to me 2 microns for necklaces, 1 micron for earrings and at least 3 microns for rings, although said that people do often go for a thicker 5 micron coating on rings, as they are worn a lot.

Hope that helps.

[Inanegal]

Thanks, Lauren, that's very helpful.
Nina

[medusa]

If you want to sell the earrings and describe them as 'vermeil' (gold plated silver), the gold layer will need to be at least 2.5 microns. This is, compared to most commercial plated jewellery, a nice thick plate and quite hard wearing.

I know nothing about the process of measuring the thickness of the plate but I plate my own jewellery with a little pen electroplating kit and I love it! It would be nice to know how thick the layer of gold is though :)

I'm surprised that vermeil is that thick, I always thought it was a super thin plating, so that's good to know. I suppose if it's thicker it won't 'migrate' into the silver.


I went into Elliot Fitzpatrick platers in London on Friday to get some quotes. They recommended to me 2 microns for necklaces, 1 micron for earrings and at least 3 microns for rings, although said that people do often go for a thicker 5 micron coating on rings, as they are worn a lot.

Hope that helps.

is there a huge difference in price between one and five microns? Also, if you are electroplating, once you get one micron or molecule depth of gold, how do they build it up?

[Dennis]

How many microns of gold do I need?

An ancient philosophical question is: How many angels can dance on the head of a pin? Well, if it is a mm across and they are a micron thick a thousand can line up in a queue to get off. Dennis

[Inanegal]

How many microns of gold do I need?

An ancient philosophical question is: How many angels can dance on the head of a pin? Well, if it is a mm across and they are a micron thick a thousand can line up in a queue to get off. Dennis

Very amusing, Dennis! =D> =D> =D>

Nina

[silken]

[QUOTE=medusa;52053]I'm surprised that vermeil is that thick, I always thought it was a super thin plating, so that's good to know. I suppose if it's thicker it won't 'migrate' into the silver.

The problem is, many people describe things as vermeil when they are in fact just silver with a very fine layer of gold but without laboratory equipment you can't tell the difference. Vermeil is a protected term and to legally describe something as vermeil, there must be at least 2.5 microns of gold :)

[medusa]

Thanks for the clarification, that's really helpful to know :)