Gold Plating Types and Applications

 Gold's resistance to corrosion, tarnish and rust has lent it an aura of immortality. Its durability, and seemingly eternal brilliance, make it a popular choice for romantic jewelry and decor.


Aside from decorative applications, gold has functional uses as well, particularly in electronics applications. Unfortunately, due to its high demand and an unstable economy, the price of gold is high, and constantly fluctuating, making solid gold an impractical option for most applications. To solve this problem, many consumers turn to gold plating, to get the advantages of solid gold, without its drawbacks and price tag.


It's one of the most common metals used for both decorative and functional electroplating applications. A thin layer of is deposited on a substrate, usually composed of a base metal, by brushing or running an electrical current through the object to be plated. Different varieties of plating, and different plating processes, can be utilized, depending on the desired outcome and intended use. It can be functional, decorative, or both.


To make jewelry, an object made of copper, zinc, silver, or another base metal is often electroplated with a microns-thick layer of gold plating. Silver, unfortunately, will bleed into the gold on a molecular level, over months and years, resulting in tarnishing, and alteration of the initial color.


Nickel is often used as a barrier layer plating on plastic the silver and gold to prevent this phenomenon, and also because it adds depth and warmth to the reflectivity.


Because solid gold is expensive and soft, plating another metal with gold is a popular choice to enhance the durability, and lower the price, of gold jewelry.

Gold-filled, rolled gold or rolled gold plate is another type of plating often used in jewelry-making, which is slightly different from regular gold plating.


The difference is that the gold plating is bonded to the base metal, typically brass, with heat and pressure, resulting in greater resistance to wear and flaking. The plating for these items is generally 17-25,000 times as thick as normal gold plating, making it extremely durable; gold-filled items can last anywhere between five and thirty years, depending on the thickness of the initial gold layer.


Common substrate metals for functional gold electroplating include silver, copper, brass, aluminum and other alloys - really, almost any metal, and the one that is used will depend on the properties that are desired in the finished product. Unlike decorative gold plating, which varies in purity, the gold used for functional applications must be as pure as possible, to ensure the best conductivity and corrosion resistance.


A barrier layer of nickel is still used for functional electroplating, not for aesthetic purposes but because it adds surface hardness, and prevents migration. The color of functional gold plating is usually similar to that of 24-carat decorative plating. Circuit boards, sound systems and radio connectors are just some of the many applications for functional gold plating.


Through the use of gold electroplating, the positive qualities of both the gold plating and the metallic substrate can be maintained and utilized.


Amanda Wood is Managing Director of South Australian Metal Finishing company A Class Metal Finishers Pty Ltd

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