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ted_yosem
Sound technical content, curated with aloha by
Ted Mooney, P.E. RET
Pine Beach, NJ
finishing.com -- The Home Page of the Finishing Industry

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What is electroplated gold?




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Q. Is this gold electroplated giftware from International Silver Company worth anything?

gold electroplated giftware

Raul Ramos
- Glendale, Arizona, USA
April 6, 2013


A. Hi Raul. I hate being unkind or dismissive, but we've already said we don't attempt valuations here. But a picture gives no real data, like the gold plating thickness; and, despite posting hundreds of pictures of such items, not a single reader in the 18 years we've been online has ever offered a single comment on the value of another person's items -- it's just a waste of bandwidth. Apologies.

Please look on eBay for similar items (I did, and sadly it looks like $7-$15), and take it to a local antique shop, and take it to one of the "We buy gold" shops on every other city street corner. Between those three strategies you'll have a very good idea. Best of luck with it!

Regards,

Ted Mooney, finishing.com
Ted Mooney, P.E.
Striving to live Aloha
finishing.com - Pine Beach, New Jersey
April 8, 2013



Q. What options are there to coat an 18K gold electroplated ring to keep it from tarnishing when the plated gold fades?

Marci Cain
- Gardena, California
April 16, 2013



A. Hi Marci. When the gold plating wears off it must be plated again. After it's plated you could consider a UV cured clearcoat (same as clear nail polish that is cured in a UV tray).

Regards,

Ted Mooney, finishing.com
Ted Mooney, P.E.
Striving to live Aloha
finishing.com - Pine Beach, New Jersey
April 16, 2013



Gold plated tungsten carbide

on Amazon

(affil links)

Q. Hi I'm thinking of purchasing a Lord of the Rings ring. It states that it is made of tungsten and combined with a small amount of nickel. It says it is 18k gold plated and will fade with fair wear and tear in two years time. Do you think it will start to tarnish before two years?

Charlene Matthews
- Tauranga, Bop, New Zealand
September 9, 2013


Q. Hi, I've just bought a 24k electroplated ring. How long do you think this will keep its colour for?

Thanks,

Angie Mccluskie
- Liverpool, Merseyside, UK
September 29, 2013


A. Hi Angie. Sorry, but not long. Rings are very very heavy wear items, and the plating is probably very thin.

Regards,

Ted Mooney, finishing.com
Ted Mooney, P.E.
Striving to live Aloha
finishing.com - Pine Beach, New Jersey
September 30, 2013




Q. Hi,

My grandma left me Christian Bernard 18k gold electroplated 10m -- does this cost much?

Thanks

Alexa Yu
- United Arab Emirates
January 8, 2014


A. Hi Alexa. What is a "10m"? Christian Bernard made watches, rings, pendants, etc.

I suggest you look on eBay for similar items to what you have.

Regards,

Ted Mooney, finishing.com
Ted Mooney, P.E.
Striving to live Aloha
finishing.com - Pine Beach, New Jersey
January 8, 2014




Want to sell 1500 gold plated stamps

Q. Hello I have 22 kt electroplated stamps. about 1500 of them. Will a gold buyer buy them for the price of 22 kt electrolyte?

garry mogg
- anchorage alaska usa
February 23, 2014


A. Hi Garry. I'm not sure what you mean by "electroplated stamps". Do you mean some sort of commemorative issue of gold plated postage stamps by the Franklin Mint or something like that? If so, see eBay where some sellers seem to be trying strategies like selling groups of 5 or 10 on given themes for $10; with that approach and patience you might make a few bucks. But as we speak one guy is offering 81 gold plated stamps in an album for $24.99 and has no bidders yet, so it's not a seller's market. If you can find a copy of the original ad that implied they might be worth a small fortune some day, it might help sell them :-)

Sorry, but the intrinsic value is probably nothing.

Regards,

Ted Mooney, finishing.com
Ted Mooney, P.E.
Striving to live Aloha
finishing.com - Pine Beach, New Jersey
February 2014


A. At a $1333 gold market, you can figure about $0.05 per square inch of gold coated area. That is based on the average thickness of gold leaf being about 3.5 - 4.0 microinches.

Chris Owen
- Nevada, Missouri, USA
February 24, 2014



Q. My granddad left me a 23kt electroplated gold half dollar coin. Does this have any value?

Tattianna Wright
- bklyn New York usa
May 25, 2014


A. Hi. It probably has no intrinsic value. But it would be a great thing to leave to your grandchildren.

Regards,

Ted Mooney, finishing.com
Ted Mooney, P.E.
Striving to live Aloha
finishing.com - Pine Beach, New Jersey
May 2014




Is Southwest Mining Co. "California Gold" Bar Real?

June 29, 2014

Q. I have a 6 troy ounce gold colored bar, with the following information stamped on the top of it as follows:

28788-4
Southwest Mining Co
6 ounces troy
California Gold
24K GE
02003

Does it have any value, and if so, what is the approximation of that value?

Thank you!

Stan Caminada
- Mineral, Virginia USA


A. Hi Stan. You obviously have either 6 ounces of real 24 kt gold at a value of a little over $1300 per ounce today, or you have a prop, or a forgery. The markings prove little because, if they did, forgeries would simply use those markings. For a quick disqualification test you could do the Archimedes thing of putting it in water, seeing how much water it displaces, then weighing whether it's 19.3 times as heavy as the water it displaces. Few things are as heavy as gold -- lead is nowhere close.

Many jewelers and all of the "We buy gold" stores, which are on seemingly every other corner these days, can tell you which one you have in a flash. Hope for the best!

Regards,

Ted Mooney, finishing.com
Ted Mooney, P.E.
Striving to live Aloha
finishing.com - Pine Beach, New Jersey
June 2014


It looks like what is stamped on it - 24K GE - 24K Gold Electroplate.

Chris Owen
- Nevada, Missouri, USA
July 3, 2014



thumbs up signThanks Chris. I had read on some other sites that this "GE" on these ingots stood for "gold electroplate", and you are probably right that it does.

But I think it is no longer legal to stamp something with a carat designation that applies to the plating rather than the bulk of the object because it could be deceptive -- especially when combined with the other markings like "6 ounces troy" (who weighs lead and non-precious metals in troy ounces?). Everyone in the world knows what 24kt means whereas virtually nobody would know that "GE" meant gold electroplate. For demonstration, Google "24 kt" and then try to google "GE" :-)

Intentions probably were pure, just to sell it as an amusing novelty.

Regards,

Ted Mooney, finishing.com
Ted Mooney, P.E.
Striving to live Aloha
finishing.com - Pine Beach, New Jersey
July 2014


A. I have the identical gold bar from Southwest Mining Co. It's a paper weight. I acquired mine in the early 80s.

JE Sinclair
- Greer South Carolina USA
August 21, 2014



thumbs up signThanks for the clarification, JE! Now that makes sense :-)

Regards,

Ted Mooney, finishing.com
Ted Mooney, P.E.
Striving to live Aloha
finishing.com - Pine Beach, New Jersey
August 2014



Q. I have an unmarked gold cross. It doesn't stick to a magnet, what about EP, does EP gold stick to a magnet?

Charles Woodfin
- Farmville Virginia, usa
December 5, 2014


A. Hi Charles. A magnet only sticks to ferromagnetic materials -- basically, iron and steel. If gold is electroplated onto iron or steel, a magnet would stick to it, but jewelry is almost never made of iron or steel because it is too rust-prone. Your cross is probably nickel-silver or brass. If it were gold it would probably have a karat mark, and if it were silver it would probably be labelled "EP Sterling".

While it may be vaguely possible to stumble upon unlabeled gold, it's also possible to stumble upon a discarded lottery ticket that is a big winner which the buyer didn't realize -- but neither is likely :-)

Gold is VERY heavy, 70% heavier than lead, and would immediately attract the attention of a lot of people; it doesn't just kick around from person to person unrecognized :-(

Luck and Regards,

Ted Mooney, finishing.com
Ted Mooney, P.E.
Striving to live Aloha
finishing.com - Pine Beach, New Jersey
December 2014




Q. Dear Sir,
I bought a Lord of the Rings obviously cheap ring and it started to turn my husbands finger green. He loves the deep inscription and the way it fits his finger perfect. (I bought him a more expensive one and it does not fit right). I had heard there was "electroplating" that would never tarnish or wear off. Have seen in the past many articles to the such also. Now I cannot find anything. Reading your feeds it seems that was wrong. My question; is there any plating that will last a long time even if not necessarily gold? Thank you.

Connie Loop
- Reedsport, Oregon, USA
December 29, 2014


A. Hi Connie. You may have heard that gold-colored titanium nitride is very hard and lasts a long time, but engagement rings eventually wear all the way through, which is to say that nothing lasts forever. Titanium nitride can't practically be added to rings on a onesy-twosy basis, but heavy gold plating can last a long time. Cheaper and easier would be a UV hardened clear coating, or an automotive two-component clear coat. Good luck.

Regards,

Ted Mooney, finishing.com
Ted Mooney, P.E.
Striving to live Aloha
finishing.com - Pine Beach, New Jersey
December 2014




Q. Hi, I just purchased a belt buckle. The seller said it's 14kt gold over sterling silver. How much gold is really on the buckle? On the buckle it reads 14k sterling silver.

Bev Cummings
mskittybarker pet grooming salon - coatesville, Pennsylvania
February 13, 2015


A. Hi Bev. Probably practically none. Unless advertised otherwise, gold plating these days probably tends to be 10 - 20 millionths of an inch thick, maybe even less. "Micron gold", which is high quality costume jewelry, is 40 millionths of an inch thick. Office paper (20 lb.) is .004", which is 100X as thick as the micron gold.

Regards,

Ted Mooney, finishing.com
Ted Mooney, P.E.
Striving to live Aloha
finishing.com - Pine Beach, New Jersey
February 2015




June 2, 2015

28788-5a  28788-5b

Q. Found what seems to be a gold watch.

Richard hamby
- New Orleans Louisiana



Gold test kit
gold_test_kit
on eBay or

Amazon

(affil links)
June 2015

thumbs up signWell it certainly seems to be a gold colored watch band Richard. But I really think you'll make faster progress by just taking it for testing to one of the "We Buy Gold" stores that are on every other street corner than by trying to figure it out by the markings on its watchband. Good luck.

Regards,

-->

----
Ed. note: Sorry, but we've had to reject a lot of submittals on this thread because we can't print requests for valuations, nor anything which looks like a disguised "for sale" listing. Technical questions only please!



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