FAQ’s
If you have any questions relating to our products and service then please check out our FAQ’s below. If you cannot find what you are looking for then please contact us and we will be happy to assist.
The longevity of gold-plated items depends on the level of care and usage they receive. Generally, gold-plated ornaments tend to last longer than gold-plated jewelry due to less handling. To prolong the life of gold-plated items, it is essential to avoid scratching and excessive rubbing, as these actions can cause the gold layer to wear down more quickly. The industry standard for gold plating on jewelry ranges between 0.5-1.0 microns, which typically lasts for approximately 6 -12 months. At Elite Luxury, we offer a minimum plating thickness of 1 micron for jewelry, just below the heavy gold plating threshold. However, upon request, we can apply a thicker layer of gold plating to further extend the item’s lifespan.
Gold plating is real gold that gets deposited onto a base metal in thin layers.
24K Gold is 99.9% pure gold where as 18k gold is 75% gold and 25% of other metals. 18K Gold is harder wearing than 24K gold and that is why we recommend 18k gold when we plate jewellery. Also 18K gold is paler in tone than 24K Gold. 24K gold is one of the most less reactive metals so it doesn’t tarnish or react with oxygen.
Rhodium is often confused with white gold. Rhodium is a hard white creamy metal that is usually plated on to white gold as white gold naturally doesn’t really have a nice decorative finish. So Rhodium is plated on top to give it a beautiful lustre. It also prevents tarnish and helps with resisting scratches.
Yes Silver whether plated or not will eventually tarnish.
Yes gold will plate onto silver although the silver will tarnish underneath the gold and eventually show through the gold plating. We usually put a barrier plate onto the silver either nickel or if jewellery palladium would be used and the gold would be plated directly onto the barrier plate so the tarnish wont show through
Yes Gold is one of the most less reactive metals so help to protect corrosion.
Good news yes! If your gold plated jewellery has worn it can be re-plated.
Yes Gold is an excellent conductor of electricity. That is why it is frequently used in electrical components.
Elite Luxury Gold Plating offer a wide range of finishes including, 24k gold plating, 18k gold plating, 18k Rose Gold plating, Silver plating, Rhodium Plating, Copper Plating, Platinum Plating, Nickel Plating, Palladium Plating, Chrome Plating.
Here at Elite Luxury Gold Plating we can plate more or less any metal including Aluminium, Titanium, Stainless Steel, Mild Steel, Brass, Bronze, Copper etc
Yes we can plate non electrically conductive materials such as most plastics, glass, wood, etc. Although this process can be very tricky and requires a completely different process to the standard electroplating process. Please get in touch for more details on this.
Yes Elite Luxury offer an in house polishing service. We are able to polish jewellery or any other items you may have either as part of the preparation before gold plating or as a polish only service.
Elite Luxury offer a jewellery cleaning service to make your jewellery gleam again.
Yes Elite Luxury are a customisation service. Other than just gold plating services and electroplating services, we offer a polishing service, cleaning service, design service, crystal embellishment service, diamond setting service, laser engraving service, engraving service, and many more.
Yes we can polish up and re-plate your antique or vintage items. We work closely with electrical engineers, watchmaker, jeweller and gold smith so this enables us to carry out repairs or restoration on your items so you can be sure your item is safe with us.
Yes Elite Luxury offer free worldwide shipping an all products listed on the website. We offer free shipping on custom work throughout the UK. A small shipping fee would apply for custom work carried outside of the UK.
Usually we work within a 7 day time frame. Although some work maybe be quicker all depending on the current workload.
Yes we regularly use crystals to bling up or ice out products. Although sometimes the size of the crystals combined with the colour scheme it may not be possible to use Crystals instead we will use the best crystals to make sure the fit and the look is correct.
The crystals are set hard in place and generally should not just fall off. Although if mistreated of rubbed hard or picked at obviously the crystals may become loose.