To gold plate a piece of jewelry an alloy, a mixture of different metals, is used. Karat is the unit that measures the fineness of gold. If you figuratively imagine a gold bar, it is made of 24 karat pure gold in a rich gold tone. With 18 karat gold plating, 750 of every 1,000 parts are made of gold. So the smaller the number, the less gold it contains, and consequently the milder the hue. However, pure gold is very expensive, less resistant and too soft, which is why it is used rather rarely in the jewelry industry. By adding other metals, the alloy becomes harder and the color tone can be determined.

At GEMLY & Co. only recycled 18 carat gold verwendet is used. This has the second highest gold content as well as a beautiful color. Here, 75% gold is mixed with 25% silver.

For comparison:
24 karat gold = 999 gold = 99.9 % fine gold
18 karat gold = 750 gold = 75 % fine gold and 25 % silver/copper
14 karat gold = 585 gold = 58.5 % fine gold and 41.5 % silver/copper