Last updated · 2026-11-01
Gold-filled vs gold-plated
What GF, 1/20 12K GF, RGP, GP and HGE mean, how much gold each really contains, and what that is worth when you sell.
Both have a thin outer layer of gold over a cheaper metal, usually brass. The difference is how thick that layer is and how it gets there, which decides how long the piece lasts and whether it has any scrap value at all.
The short version
| Gold-filled (GF) | Gold-plated (GP, GEP, HGE) | |
|---|---|---|
| How it's made | A sheet of gold alloy bonded to the base metal with heat and pressure | Gold deposited by electroplating |
| How much gold | A stated share of the total weight, usually 1/20 | A coating measured in microns |
| Lasts | Years to decades with normal wear | Can wear through in months on rings and bracelets |
| Scrap value | Small, but real | Practically none |
| Typical marks | GF, 1/20 12K GF, 12K GF, 14/20 | GP, GEP, HGE, "gold tone" |
Rolled gold plate (RGP) is made the same way as gold-filled, with a thinner layer.
Under the US FTC Jewelry Guides (16 CFR Part 23), "gold filled" means a layer of at least 10-karat gold making up at least 1/20 of the item's metal weight, with the karat stated (for example "1/20 14K GF"). Rolled gold plate uses the same kind of layer at a smaller share, at least 1/40 of the weight. Gold electroplate is far thinner, and only plating of at least 2.5 microns may be called "heavy gold electroplate".
Reading a gold-filled stamp
A mark like 1/20 12K GF gives you everything you need:
- 1/20: one twentieth (5%) of the piece's weight is the gold layer.
- 12K: that layer is 12 karat gold, half pure gold.
- So the pure gold content is 1/20 × 12/24 = 2.5% of the weight.
At today's gold price of $3,876.40/ozt, a 10-gram gold-filled bracelet marked 1/20 12K GF holds about 0.25 g of pure gold, worth around $31.16 in melt value. For comparison, the same bracelet in solid 14K would be worth about $726.96, or $72.70/g.
A 1/20 14K GF piece holds slightly more: 1/20 × 14/24 ≈ 2.9% of its weight.
What gold-filled is worth when you sell
Most pawn shops and cash-for-gold buyers won't pay for gold-filled at all, because recovering a few percent of gold from a brass piece costs them more than it's worth. Some refiners and specialist scrap buyers do buy it by weight, in bulk, at a small fraction of solid-gold prices. If you have a lot of it, ask refiners for a gold-filled price per ounce; a single chain is rarely worth the postage.
Vintage gold-filled watches, lockets and pens often sell better whole, to collectors, than as scrap.
What gold-plated is worth
As scrap, effectively nothing: the gold layer is too thin to recover. Plated jewelry sells on its design or brand, not its metal.
Vermeil
Vermeil is gold over sterling silver rather than brass. The FTC Guides reserve the word for sterling coated with gold of at least 10 karat, at least 2.5 microns thick (16 CFR Part 23). The value of a vermeil piece is in the silver underneath: weigh it and use the silver calculator with 925.
Telling them apart without a stamp
Wear is the giveaway. Plated pieces show the base metal at edges and high points quickly; gold-filled pieces keep their color far longer. If the stamp is gone, a jeweler's acid test on a deep file mark will reach the base metal under either one. See how to tell if gold is real for home checks.