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Q&As since 1989


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Seeking one time vacuum plating of religious medal

I have a small 3/8" by 5/8" inexpensive religious medal that I would like yellow gold plated. I have been told by a jeweler that it would have to be "vacuum plated". Does anyone do that and about how much would it cost?

George Hutton
homeowner - Rotonda West, FL, USA
2005

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I think the jeweler is accidentally misleading you. Real gold plating, which is what you probably want, is not "vacuum plated"; it is electroplated, and it is a commonplace. However, due to the labor (time) and overhead of handling a single piece, it may be prohibitively expensive for an "inexpensive" medal. A $50 minimum charge wouldn't surprise me at all.

These days some things like high school class rings are often titanium nitrided (a vacuum plating process) instead of being electroplated or instead of being made of carat gold. The reasons are that it looks very much like gold, it is very wear resistant, and it is significantly less expensive than solid gold. But the labor and overhead for such vacuum systems is even higher than for electroplating and would be prohibitive for a one of a kind consumer item.

Ted Mooney, P.E.
Striving to live Aloha
finishing.com - Pine Beach, New Jersey
2005