What Is Gold & Silver Plating?

During the early 19th century, gold and silver plating was mainly used for decorative purposes, from plating jewelry, to creating gold leaflets. However, during the 20th century, scientists found new applications for the purpose of resistance and conductivity.

Function

The most common way to plate gold and silver is through electroplating. This means dipping an object in a gold or silver bath and using electricity to draw the gold or silver onto it.

Purpose

Gold and silver plating have important applications in the industrial and electronic industries as conductive metals. They are especially important in circuitry.

Uses

Gold and silver plating can be used to decorate jewelry, coins, and objects for decorative purposes. It is also used in industry, electronics, and dentistry.

History

In the early 19th century, Luigi Brugnatelli became the first person to electroplate gold. He was able to layer gold over silver using the experimental voltaic pile. Eventually independent discoveries in Great Britain produced similar work, and gold and silver plating spread throughout Europe and to the United States.

Mineral Baths

A bathing solution allows silver and gold to have different properties, like being more conductive or being more resistant. At first, there were only a handful of bathing solutions, but today there are about 300 different baths just in the United States.

References

• Pfonline.com
• Artisanplating.com