Some people may not be aware of the differences between "gold-filled" and "gold-plated" jewelry. Gold-Filled jewelry is a higher quality, sometimes referred to as "Rolled Gold". Any Gold-Filled item is regulated by the government (as is solid gold) and must be at least 5% gold by weight. It is a professional jeweler's quality wire.
14kt Gold-filled wire is made by forming a tube of solid 14kt gold that is "filled" with a base metal. The gold is bonded to the base metal with heat and pressure. The base metal is also gold in color and is made up of almost the same mixture of metals (usually a brass alloy) used to bring 24kt gold down to 14kt, 10kt, etc. The exterior is solid 14 kt gold and everything you can see or touch is a solid layer of 14 kt gold. This is why it will never tarnish, chip or wear off. The gold layer on gold-filled wire is approximately 100 times thicker than gold-plate as and is bonded with heat and pressure.
Gold-Plate is a microscopic film of gold particles adhered to most any kind of base metal by means of an electroplating (or dipping) process. Gold-Plate is often sold as "gold-filled" (against regulation) or is often called other things such as "gold-overlay" in order to mislead the consumer. It is often difficult to initially see the difference between gold-filled and gold-plate jewelry. However, due to the gold particles, gold-plate has the tendency to chip, flake, and wear off.
Sterling Silver wire (.925) will last just as any Sterling Silver item -- however, Sterling Silver does naturally tarnish, but can be cleaned with any type of silver cleaning cloth or silver cleaner.
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