What is the difference between solid and filled gold?Updated 2 years ago

There is often some confusion when it comes to the term "solid gold" and I wanted to explain in more dept what it means.  Solid gold is often referred to as "real gold" and a number followed by k (for karat) which refers to the purity of gold. This might be more information than you're asking for, but the purest form of gold is 24 karat (aka 100% gold). 24K gold is very yellow and soft in texture...too soft to actually use in jewelry. To make it stronger, gold is mixed with alloys which are other durable metals like zinc, copper, silver or nickel. We use 14K gold which is 14/24 parts pure gold (58% pure) and the rest (42%) is a blend of metals (aka alloys - which is also what gives the color white, yellow or rose to the gold).

Gold filled is a lot more economical compared to solid gold and is made by bonding a layer of gold to a base metal (such as brass or silver). Unlike solid gold, Gold filled will wear off, exposing the base metal underneath. Gold filled jewelry has a limited life span (with proper care it will last a while but not nearly compared to solid gold) and repairing or restoring the gold color is rather difficult and often involves "plating" as a temporary solution .

Read more about our decision to discontinue Gold Fill.