Gold plate and vermeil

What not to do

In detail

A microscopically thin layer of gold deposited onto a base metal — brass, silver in the case of vermeil, or steel. It looks like gold because the surface IS gold, and it behaves nothing like it, because behind the surface is a metal that corrodes. The arithmetic is the whole record. Plating is a finite thickness and polishing is subtractive, so each clean spends part of a layer that cannot be replaced. A conservation leaflet on another plated object says it exactly: such surfaces can be very thin, are probably already worn thin from previous polishing, and powered abrasive methods must never be used on them. So the correct treatment is the mildest one that works, every time, and a dip or polish sold for solid metal is the wrong product. Wear shows first at the high points — a ring's shoulders, a clasp — because that is where cloth and skin reach. Once the base metal is exposed it corrodes at a boundary with a more noble metal beside it, which is why worn plate goes green in a line rather than fading evenly. So the useful advice is the boring one: warm water, a drop of detergent, a soft brush, dried thoroughly. No polish, no dip, no abrasive cloth.

Why

• Gold plate and vermeil is explained by Coating thickness