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Gold plated vs. gold-tone finish

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While shopping for gold silverware I came across one that was gold-plated and another one that had a gold-tone finish. Would someone be able to tell me the difference between the two and which one would be the better buy.

Thanks,

Nancy Hamilton
homeowner - New Port Richey, Florida, USA

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I think this is just a truth-in-advertising issue, Nancy. If a seller claims that something is gold plated, it must have a coating of genuine gold on it, albeit probably only 20 millionths of an inch thick. Gold-tone just means that it is the same general color as gold with no real gold being involved. That doesn't necessarily mean it's inferior in terms of function.

I'd go for the gold plated, but if it's not from a reputable manufacturer, you have no way of estimating its life.

Ted Mooney, P.E. finishing.com Brick, New Jersey

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October 31, 2011

I have a great looking Chinese fake wrist watch finished in a very convincing red gold. It is certainly harder than gold and takes a polish -- what is the finish?
In general I am interested in learning about various passivation, plating and dyes used for decoration and protection of metal surfaces. A good reference book may be enough to get me started. My area has many metal finishing shops to support the electronics industry.

Thanks,

Guy

Guy Williams
watchmaker - LOS ALTOS

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October , 2011

Hi, Guy.

It is very difficult to guess what a finish is just from its color. If you are sure it takes a polish, then it is unlikely to be anodized titanium because that is very thin and would wear through from little polishing. Similarly, it is unlikely to be an electrocoating or a tinted lacquer because those are organic coatings that wouldn't seem to polish well. That probably leaves PVD coatings like titanium nitride (looks like gold) and zirconium nitride (looks like brass) with some subtle contaminant added to give it a pinkish coloration.

PVD coatings are pretty common on watch cases. The equipment is expensive but if you can coat hundreds an hour it can pay for itself quickly; unfortunately, the process is not well suited to onesy-twosy with the capital cost of the equipment, and the cycle time to evacuate the chamber, etc.

The Metal Finishing Guidebook is inexpensive and has pretty broad coverage of most finishing issues. Good luck.

Regards,

Ted Mooney, P.E. finishing.com Brick, New Jersey