VERMEIL, which is
pronounced "vehr-MAY," is 925 Sterling Silver with is plated with
Gold.
Vermeil is a combination of Sterling Silver and Gold commonly used as a
component in jewelry. A typical example is Sterling Silver coated with 18K or
24K Gold. To be considered VERMEIL, the gold must be at least 10 karat (42%)
and be at least 2.5 micrometers thick. In the US and various other countries,
Sterling Silver covered first with a base metal (such as nickel) and than
plated with Gold cannot be sold as vermeil without disclosing that it
contains base metal.
The word "VERMEIL" is a French word which came into use in the
English language, mostly in America,
in the 19th century as an alternative for the usual term silver-gilt.
Vermeil can be produced by either fire-gilding or electrolysis. The original
fire-gilding process was developed in France
in the mid-18th century; however, France later banned the
production of vermeil because over time artisans developed blindness due to
mercury involved in the process. Today, VERMEIL is produced by electrolysis
which is much safer than fire gilding yet produces a very similar result
The White House has a collection of vermeil tableware kept on display (when
not in use) in the Vermeil Room.
The Code of Federal Regulations 16, Part 23.5 defines Vermeil: "An
industry product may be described or marked as 'vermeil' if it consists 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, that is of substantial
thickness and a minimum thickness throughout equivalent to two and one half
(2 ½) microns (or approximately 1/10000ths of an inch) of fine Gold."
Less than 2.5
microns is NOT Vermeil and is considered as simple Gold plating only.
Vermeil Jewelry
Vermeil is a more expensive version of Gold plated jewelry. It consists of a
925 Sterling Silver base that is coated or plated with Gold.
And again, if the longest lifespan is in the first place for you, your option
is VERMEIL
Vermeil is much more durable than simple very thin gold plating.
No wonder that the
price is also high.
Gold plated jewelry
Gold plating is the term used to describe the process of plating jewelry made
of either precious (silver) or non-precious base metal (zinc, nickel, copper)
with a thin layer of gold, which is depositing their by electrochemical
methods. As it was said the layer is very thin and thus easy to scratch. It
also naturally wears thin with time, exposing the metal below.
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