How to Identify Gold Plating

An acid test can identify gold plating.

Gold plating is a way to coat the outside of an object with gold to make it appear as if it is solid gold. Many types of jewelry and home furnishings are gold plated because it is less expensive than making an item out of pure gold. Although many items will have a stamp identifying them as gold plated, others do not. In these cases, it can be tricky to differentiate between gold plating and pure gold.

Things You'll Need

• File
• 10 karat gold test acid

Instructions

1. Examine the gold object carefully and find a location that is slightly hidden so that you can perform a test on it. Good options would be somewhere on the back of the object or near a solder point.

2. Place the tip of a metal file against the chosen area and scrape the surface of the object lightly. If you notice a color change as you file, the object is definitely gold plated. If there is no color change, the object may still be gold plated, but it may also be pure gold.

3. Open the bottle of gold test acid and place one drop onto the area that you filed off. If the solution foams up and creates bubbles, the item is gold plated. If there is no foam or bubbles, the piece is made of pure gold.

References

• Made Man: How To Identify Gold-Plated Jewelry
• Texas A&M University System: Gold Jewelry
• National Jewelers Supplies: Gold Acid Testing

Resources

• Read this Article in Spanish