18K Gold Vermeil (pronounced vehr-may; it's French!). People usually misconstrue this for fashion jewelry, our gold vermeil pieces are made with sterling silver as a base material with a 3.5 micron 18k thick gold plating. 

(Sterling silver is an alloy made of 92.5% pure silver and 7.5% other materials, and is a standard material used in high quality jewelry)

In the United States, the Federal Trade Commission requires a layer of gold that is at least 2.5 microns thick to be considered vermeil. We always use 18k gold that is 2.5 microns thick, to extend the life of the piece even further. 

How is gold vermeil different from gold-plated?

Gold-plated jewelry refers to jewelry that has gold plating at least 0.5 microns thick. It does not require sterling silver to be used as the base material, and usually uses a less valuable material at its core. Since the plating is so thin, the gold color will wear very quickly compared to gold vermeil. Gold vermeil is highly superior to gold-plated jewelry.

What does "18k vermeil" mean?

If you see "18k" or another karat before the word "vermeil", this simply refers to how much gold content there is: 24k is 99.9% gold content and 18k is 75% gold content.

Should I buy vermeil?

In the realm of gold-tone jewelry, gold vermeil is the best quality jewelry you can get short of buying solid gold. For people who want a cost effective and higher quality alternative to solid gold, vermeil is your answer!