Gold plated vs gold filled vs vermeil

Why the three words get confused

Shop listings use “gold plated”, “gold filled” and “vermeil” as if they were grades of the same thing. They are not. The US Federal Trade Commission’s Jewelry Guides define each term differently, using different tests: one by thickness, one by weight share, one by the base metal. This page reports what the Guides say. We work from documents and have not tested any jewellery.

The Guides are in 16 CFR Part 23 (eCFR text retrieved 2026-11-14, version dated 2025-01-01). They are FTC guidance on what counts as unfair or deceptive marking, so they describe how the terms should be used, not what any individual seller does. The relevant sections are 23.3 (gold content) and 23.4 (vermeil).

Gold plated

Section 23.3 says “Gold Plate” or “Gold Plated” should be used only for a surface plating of gold alloy “applied by any process” that is of such thickness and extent of surface coverage that “reasonable durability” is assured. The karat fineness of the alloy should come immediately before the term and be of at least equal conspicuousness. The Guides do not give a thickness number for plated in general.

The numbers come in the examples of acceptable marking. An item with an electrolytic plating of gold, or of gold alloy of not less than 10 karat fineness, and “a minimum thickness throughout equivalent to 0.175 microns (approximately 7/1,000,000ths of an inch) of fine gold” may be marked “Gold Plate”, “Gold Plated”, “Gold Electroplate” or “Gold Electroplated” if the karat designation precedes the term (the Guides’ examples are “12 Karat Gold Electroplate” or “12K G.E.P.”). A footnote adds that 1 micron of 12 karat gold is equivalent to one-half micron of 24-karat gold.

For “Heavy Gold Electroplate” the minimum thickness is equivalent to two and one half (2 1/2) microns, “or approximately 100/1,000,000ths of an inch”, of fine gold, at the same minimum fineness.

The Guides also say that “reasonable durability” means all areas of plating are thick enough to give the coverage reasonable consumers would expect. They add that thickness need not be uniform, because different surfaces see different wear.

Gold filled

Section 23.3 puts “Gold Filled” together with “Rolled Gold Plate”, “Rolled Gold Plated” and “Gold Overlay”. These terms should be used only where the gold alloy is applied by a mechanical process, with reasonable durability, and with the karat fineness shown first.

The acceptable-use example describes gold alloy of not less than 10 karat fineness affixed on all significant surfaces by “soldering, brazing, welding, or other mechanical means”. When that plating makes up at least 1/40th of the weight of the metal in the whole article, the plating terms such as “Gold Overlay” may be used. “When such plating constitutes at least 1/20th of the weight of the metal in the entire article, the term ‘Gold Filled’ may be used.”

So the figure for gold filled is a share of weight (1/20th), not a thickness in microns. The Guides give the fraction for the lower rolled-gold and overlay terms as 1/40th. The excerpt we read does not say what the metal underneath is.

Vermeil

Section 23.4 is short. “Vermeil” may be used for a product consisting of “a base of sterling silver coated or plated on all significant surfaces with gold, or gold alloy of not less than 10 karat fineness”. The coating must be of reasonable durability and have a minimum thickness throughout equivalent to two and one half (2 1/2) microns, approximately 100/1,000,000ths of an inch, of fine gold.

The word is therefore tied to two things at once: a sterling silver base and a minimum gold layer. If the sterling silver has been covered with a base metal such as nickel and then plated with gold, the Guides say it is unfair or deceptive to use “vermeil” without a disclosure that this is the case.

Side by side

	Gold plated / electroplate	Gold filled	Vermeil
What the Guides measure	Thickness (for electroplate), reasonable durability	Share of article weight	Base metal and thickness
Figure in the Guides	0.175 microns of fine gold (electroplate); 2 1/2 microns for “heavy”	At least 1/20th of weight	2 1/2 microns of fine gold
Minimum gold alloy	Not less than 10 karat (electroplate example)	Not less than 10 karat (example)	Not less than 10 karat
Base metal named	Not specified	Not specified in the text we read	Sterling silver

The nickel question

None of the three definitions says the item is free of nickel, and none of them is defined by skin reaction. This is where the sources get specific.

Section 23.3 treats a product in which a gold plating “has been covered with a base metal (such as nickel), which is covered with a thin wash of gold” as something that must be disclosed if sold as gold plate, gold filled, rolled gold plate or gold overlay. Section 23.4 makes the equivalent point for vermeil. So the Guides name nickel under gold as a case consumers should be told about. They do not say how common it is.

On the skin side, DermNet says nickel allergy is one of the most common causes of contact allergic dermatitis, that it appears where nickel-containing metal touches the skin, with the earlobes (from earrings) the most common site, and that once developed it “persists for many years, often life-long.” DermNet says nickel allergy is diagnosed by clinical history and patch tests, and that it is essential to avoid skin contact with nickel-containing metals. For which items contain nickel, see our guide to nickel allergy and jewellery and the note on spot-testing for nickel.

The EU rules show what regulators measure instead of a label word. A 1996 review in Contact Dermatitis (PMID 9007370) says the EU Nickel Directive set a limit of 0.5 microgram per square centimetre per week of nickel release for products in direct and prolonged skin contact, and said nickel release from coated products should not exceed that level after 2 years of normal use. The review adds that this level is “not safe in every nickel-sensitive individual.” The consolidated REACH text we read repeats the 0.5 figure for articles in direct and prolonged contact, applies it to non-nickel coatings “for a period of at least two years of normal use”, and sets 0,2 micrograms per square centimetre per week for post assemblies inserted into pierced ears. See the EU nickel rules for jewellery.

The coated-article limit is written in terms of nickel release after two years of normal use. That is all the text we read says about coatings and wear.

A 2000 study in the Journal of the American Academy of Dermatology (PMID 10863220) of 449 patients with a history of reacting to jewellery or metal found gold allergy coexisted with nickel sensitivity in 10% of cases among those tested to an extended metal series. That is a single study, and it concerns gold itself, not a plating or filling. See also our guide to 14k gold and nickel allergy.

How to read a listing

This section is our own reading of the Guides, not legal advice or a medical judgement.

• Look for a karat figure before the term, since the Guides say it should be there.
• Treat “gold plated” with no figure as telling you little about thickness.
• For vermeil, check that the listing states a sterling silver base.
• For gold filled, the weight share is the defining fact, so a maker who can state it is giving you a number the Guides recognise.
• Ask the maker what the base metal is, whether it contains nickel, and whether they have release test results. See our guide to what hypoallergenic jewellery means.
• If skin turns green or dark, see why jewellery turns skin green, but note we did not use a source to explain that here.

For related materials, see sterling silver and rhodium plating. Our category pages on hypoallergenic jewellery, nickel-free earrings and hypoallergenic gold earrings cover items rather than definitions.

A plain line

These are marketing and labelling terms defined for fair advertising, and they do not describe how any item will behave on your skin. For questions about your own reactions, ask a dermatologist or an allergy or dermatology society.

What we don’t fully know

We read the text of two sections of the Guides and no enforcement material. We found no source on core metals under gold filled, none comparing reaction rates for these finishes, and none on how fast a gold layer wears. The rest is listed under “unknowns” on this page.