How to clean gold plated jewelry without wearing off the gold

Step by step: how to clean gold plated jewelry without wearing off the gold

1. 1

   Check whether it is plated, filled or vermeil

   Look for stamps such as GP, GEP, HGE or RGP (plated), GF (gold filled) or 925 with a gold color (often vermeil). Plated pieces have the thinnest layer, so they get the gentlest treatment. If there is no stamp and it was inexpensive, treat it as plated.

2. 2

   Wipe it with a dry soft cloth

   Rub the piece lightly with a clean microfiber cloth, using gentle pressure. This removes skin oil, lotion and fingerprints, which is most of what dulls plated jewelry. Often this is all it needs.

3. 3

   Mix a very mild soap bath

   Add a single drop of plain dish soap to a small bowl of lukewarm water. Skip anything with bleach, ammonia, lemon or added moisturizers. Hot water is not needed and can loosen glued stones.

4. 4

   Dip briefly, do not soak

   Dip the piece and swish it for 30 seconds to a minute. Long soaks let water creep under the plating at chips and seams, where the base metal can tarnish. Glued pieces, pearls and stones with foil backs should be wiped with a damp swab instead of dipped.

5. 5

   Dab the crevices with a swab

   Run a damp cotton swab around clasps, links and stone settings, dabbing rather than scrubbing. Do not use a toothbrush on plated surfaces; even soft bristles wear high points over time.

6. 6

   Rinse and dry completely

   Swish it in the bowl of plain water, then pat it dry with the cloth and let it air dry on a towel for 15 to 30 minutes. Trapped moisture in chains and clasps is what causes dark spots later.

7. 7

   Store it on its own

   Put each piece in its own small bag or a lined compartment, closed to air. Plated jewelry rubbing against other pieces in a dish wears the gold off quickly. Add a small silica gel packet if your bathroom is humid.

Why is gold plated jewelry so easy to damage?

Because the gold is extremely thin. Under the FTC’s Jewelry Guides, a piece can be sold as gold plated or gold electroplated with an electroplated layer of at least 10 karat gold that is only about 0.175 microns thick, roughly 7 millionths of an inch. Vermeil must be sterling silver coated with gold, and gold filled pieces carry a much thicker, mechanically bonded layer.

For solid gold pieces, follow how to clean gold jewelry instead; the soak-and-brush method there is too rough for plate.

What do GP, HGE, RGP and GF stamps mean?

The stamp tells you how much gold you have to work with, and so how gentle to be. These terms come from the FTC Jewelry Guides and are listed here from the thinnest gold layer to the thickest.

Rolled gold and gold filled layers are bonded on mechanically and make up a stated share of the metal’s weight, so they usually hold far more gold than electroplate. That is why a gold filled chain can take a short soak and a soft brush while a plated chain should not. If you buy plated jewelry for daily wear, HGE, gold filled or vermeil gives you more gold to wear through.

Why does gold plated jewelry tarnish or change color?

The gold layer is rarely the problem; the metal under it is. Jewelers Mutual explains that everyday friction wears thin plating until the base metal is exposed, and that metal then reacts with oxygen, moisture and sulfur, so tarnish shows through the gold. How fast depends on the base: copper and brass tarnish more readily than silver. The color of the marks gives you a clue:

• Green, brown or reddish spots: usually copper or brass showing through worn plating.
• Gray or black spots: usually silver under the gold, as on vermeil.
• An even, dull or paler look with no spots: often a film of skin oil, lotion or soap, which the soapy dip above removes. Pandora also notes that lower karat plating is more likely to tarnish because it holds less gold.

Cleaning removes the film on top, not the tarnish on exposed base metal. Rubbing a dark spot with polish only widens the bare patch. As Jewelers Mutual’s cleaning guide puts it, polishing can remove some tarnish and discoloration but likely won’t resolve the issue; the real fix is replating, covered below.

How to make gold plated jewelry last longer

Most plating is lost to friction, sweat and cosmetics rather than to cleaning. A few habits slow the wear:

• Take it off to sleep, shower and work out. Pandora suggests removing gold plated jewelry before sleeping, showering and exercising, and Jewelers Mutual notes that friction and sweat from physical activity wear plating away.
• Put it on last. Let lotion, sunscreen, perfume and hairspray dry first so they do not coat the piece and get rubbed into it.
• Do not over-clean. Pandora warns that gold plated jewelry can fade if you clean it too often or too harshly. A dry wipe after wearing is enough most days.
• Rotate your pieces. Wearing the same plated ring every day puts all the wear on one band.
• Save plated pieces for low-contact spots. Earrings and pendants rub against far less than rings and bracelets, which brush desks, keyboards and bag straps all day.

What should you not use on gold plated jewelry?

Avoid anything abrasive, acidic or aggressive. Each of these removes gold you cannot put back without replating.

• Toothpaste, baking soda and silver polish: all are abrasives.
• Treated polishing cloths: fine for solid gold, but they still polish metal away. Mejuri’s vermeil care page warns that polishing cloths can be abrasive and says to use gentle pressure and not over-polish.
• Ultrasonic and steam cleaners: Mejuri says not to use them on vermeil, and plated pieces are thinner still.
• Vinegar, lemon juice and jewelry dips meant for silver: acids attack the base metal at any worn spot.
• Chlorine pools, hot tubs and cleaning sprays: take plated jewelry off first.

What to do when the plating wears off

Once the base metal shows through, cleaning will not bring the gold back. A jeweler can replate many pieces, which is worth it for a ring or chain you love.

A green or dark mark on your skin usually means the copper or brass underneath is reacting with sweat. If you get an itchy rash instead, the base metal may contain nickel, which MedlinePlus lists among the common causes of allergic contact dermatitis from jewelry. Stop wearing the piece and choose nickel-free or solid metals for earrings and rings that touch skin all day. Our earring cleaning guide covers posts and backs.

Mistakes to avoid

• Polishing plated jewelry with toothpaste or baking soda, which sands off the gold.
• Leaving plated pieces to soak for an hour like solid gold.
• Running plated jewelry through an ultrasonic cleaner.
• Wearing plated rings while washing dishes, cleaning or swimming.
• Tossing plated pieces together in a dish, where they scratch each other.
• Rubbing dark spots on worn plating with polish, which only widens the bare patch.