| You ask how durable is an 18k gold plate. Wow, I | | | | plating. If there is no mark saying gold plated in |
| do wish I could give you an answer in months or | | | | one form or the other, likely the plate is of the |
| years or in any time frame. The fact is, without | | | | thinner sort and not thick enough to qualify for |
| knowing how thick the plated surface actually | | | | marking as plated. Sure, it is plated but not thickly |
| might be there is little way to predict wearability. | | | | enough to warrant the marking. If not marked as |
| Even if I knew the thickness, the best I could say | | | | plated, the ring is likely plated about as thickly as |
| is, "It will wear better (or worse) than this or that | | | | typical costume jewelry and will wear about as |
| other sort of plate or layer." | | | | well. |
| So much depends on how often the ring is worn | | | | How long? I simply cannot say. My wife wears |
| and the conditions of that time when worn. I do | | | | lots of Avon jewelry items all with only a wash of |
| believe you will take good care of the ring and | | | | gold color on them.(She happens to like it..) Still, it |
| that does make me happy. Too many folks will | | | | is surprising how long the surface does last. I |
| come into our business with a worn out ring, | | | | suspect your ring has a thicker plate than that |
| packed with dirt and stones dull from all of it...then | | | | and should last longer. |
| proudly say, "I never take it off." What a mistake | | | | When caring for the ring, use essentially the same |
| they make! Gentle and regular care and cleaning is | | | | steps to clean as with CZ's. However, do not |
| so vital to keeping a ring looking the best and | | | | often use a polishing cloth, especially the chemical |
| detecting if any stones might have worked loose. | | | | or rouge treated ones. These are made to |
| When the ring is worn, if your hands are in | | | | remove tarnish and are capable of eventually |
| contact with surfaces which contact the ring, daily | | | | wearing away the gold plating on the ring! Wipe |
| wear will eventually take the plate from that | | | | gently with a soft cloth only to dry from cleaning |
| contact area. This wear might come from a desk, | | | | in a mild detergent solution. You may use a soft |
| keyboard hand support or simply items you | | | | brush to clean behind the stones. |
| regularly handle in day to day work and living. | | | | The surface will show some wear from daily |
| Being more alert to what the ring touches will | | | | contact and that is normal. This will happen long |
| certainly give you a "heads up" on preventing | | | | before the plate is worn through. Trying to polish |
| wear from everyday contact. | | | | out the wear from daily contact will only help |
| The National Gold and Silver Marking Act (USA) | | | | remove the plate and greatly reduce the life of |
| requires certain thicknesses of gold plate for a | | | | the ring. |
| jewelry item to be stamped as gold plated. The | | | | I realize this answer is vague. There are simply no |
| mark might be "gold plate", "hge" for heavy gold | | | | fast rules as to how long a plated jewlery item |
| electroplate or simply "plate" or "plated". These | | | | will last since each person has a personal life and |
| marks indicate a recognized thickness of gold | | | | conditions are different. |