You may have a gold plated item, or could be interested in plating something to give it the appearance and lustre of real gold. However, you may be wondering how gold plating could affect its value. We’re going to break down the benefits of this service, including going into more detail about whether it can increase the perceived value of an item.
What Is Gold Plating?
Let’s make it clear what we’re talking about first. Gold plating is a process that covers an item in a thin layer of real gold. This is usually done by electroplating. You can plate a wide variety of items, including jewellery. Gold can be plated onto many different materials, including copper and silver.
Why Would Something Be Plated In Gold?
There are many motivations behind plating an item in gold. Jewellery offers a great example of a few different reasons to use gold. Gold has a beautiful appearance, and so gold plated jewellery has fantastic aesthetic appeal. You can coat something relatively cheap in gold, and get the same visual appeal as a solid piece. As well as that, gold has a lower risk of causing allergic reactions in those who are sensitive to metals.
Gold plated jewellery tends to be stronger, more durable and last longer than solid gold. This is because gold is a relatively soft metal, and so it can succumb to damage quite easily. A gold alloy or gold plated piece is more likely to last for a long time.
Are Gold Plated Items Worth More?
Despite it being stronger and more durable, gold plated items are not as valuable as solid gold. The layer of gold that’s applied to an item during electroplating is so thin that it’s not really worth very much. However, it will still look great and should cost a fraction of the price of real gold to obtain.
For Gold Plating, Choose Broadway Metal Finishing
If you want to have an item plated in gold, we can help. Get in touch with Broadway Metal Finishing today to schedule a gold plating service.