Real Gold vs. Plated: How to Tell What You're Actually Storing
You probably have a piece in your collection right now that you’ve never been sure about. A chain from a grandmother whose history you only half know. An earring that might have been your mother’s good pair, or might have been a costume from a stage performance. A ring you bought yourself in your twenties from a small shop on a trip, where the shopkeeper said gold but said it in a language you don’t speak.
You can find out. Here’s how.
The four practical tests
You don’t need a jeweler’s loupe or a chemistry kit. You need a magnifying glass, a small magnet from your fridge, and two minutes per piece.
1. Look for stamps
Hold the piece under good light and look at every surface, clasps, inside bands, post backs, the small section between links.
You’re looking for tiny numbers or letters:
- 750, 18K, 750/1000, 18-karat gold (75% pure)
- 585, 14K, 585/1000, 14-karat gold (58.5% pure)
- 375, 9K, 9KT, 9-karat gold (common in British/European pieces)
- GP, GEP, RGP, HGE, Gold-plated (a thin layer of gold over a base metal)
- GF, 1/20 12K GF, Gold-filled (thicker layer than plated, but still not solid gold)
- 925, STER, STERLING, Sterling silver
No stamp at all? Almost always means costume or plated. Quality jewelry is stamped by law in most countries.
2. The magnet test
Hold a small magnet (a fridge magnet works) up to the piece.
- Real gold (any karat), not magnetic. Won’t attract.
- Plated or costume, often magnetic. The base metal underneath is usually a magnetic alloy (steel, iron mix).
Caution: this test rules out the worst plated pieces, but some plated pieces use brass underneath, which is also non-magnetic. So a negative magnet test is necessary but not sufficient.
3. The skin test
Wear the piece for a full day. If your skin turns green or black underneath it, the piece is either plated or contains a high percentage of copper (which oxidizes against skin).
Real 14K and 18K gold will not discolor your skin, ever. If a chain has turned your neck green at the back, it’s almost certainly plated.
4. The acid test (jeweler only)
For pieces where the first three tests are inconclusive, or where you want certainty, take the piece to a local jeweler. Most will do an acid test in under five minutes, often for free if they know you. The acid test is destructive on a microscopic scale (a tiny scratch) but definitive.
What to do with what you find
Once you know what’s real:
- Insure the real pieces. Most homeowner policies cover jewelry up to a low cap ($1,000, $2,500 total). Anything above that needs a separate scheduled rider. The premiums are usually $1, $2 per $100 of value per year.
- Photograph the real pieces. One photo per piece, plus a photo of the stamp where possible. Email to yourself.
- Move the real pieces into your Bella Cache (or whatever your secure storage is). Costume can stay in the visible jewelry tray.
The act of separating real from plated is itself a security practice. If a thief opens your jewelry box and sees only costume pieces, they leave faster, and they leave less.
A small note on costume
Don’t throw away the costume pieces. Some of the most loved earrings I own are unsigned, unstamped, and would fail every test in this article. They’re “real” because they were my mother’s, or because I bought them on a trip I want to remember.
The point of this exercise isn’t to value-rank your collection. The point is to know what you have, so that you can store it appropriately, insure it where needed, and protect it.
Hidden in plain sight. Loved in private.
Next week: A new month, a new theme. We start September with the daughter-going-to-college angle.
