What is the Difference Between Gold-Plated and Imitation Gold-Plated ?

      The electroplated gold coating has strong corrosion resistance, good conductivity, easy welding, high temperature resistance, and has certain wear resistance (such as hard gold mixed with a small amount of other elements), and has good anti-tarnish ability. At the same time, the gold alloy coating has many Two shades, gold plating over silver prevents tarnish. And the coating has good ductility and is easy to polish, so it is often used as a decorative coating, such as jewelry, watch parts, artwork, etc.; it is also widely used in precision instruments, printed boards, integrated circuits, electronic tube shells, electrical contacts, etc. Parts plating with long-term stability of parametric properties. However, due to the high price of gold, its application is limited.

        Imitation gold plating is not real gold but has a color similar to real gold. The pleasing golden appearance often makes people feel magnificent. At present, imitation gold plating is used in many decorative fields, which not only improves the decoration of the product, but also improves the commodity value of the product.

        The commonly used imitation gold coating is currently based on brass plating solution, and the color of imitation gold is mostly 18K, which is a copper-zinc binary alloy. People prefer this color, which is the most common in imitation gold plating. Some add a third metal element to change the appearance tone. The imitation gold coating is an alloy coating, that is, a copper-zinc alloy, and the third metal element is mostly tin.

         As the name suggests, the former is electroplated with real gold, while the latter uses non-real gold to obtain a color similar to real gold. Electroplating real gold is to use the principle of ion exchange to cover K gold on the processed items. According to the thickness of the K gold plated, it can be divided into two types of gold plating:

① Plating with 10K ~ 24K gold, the thickness of 0.2μm is called electroplating (Gold Plated);

② The thickness of less than 0.2μm is called electric bright (Gold Flashed).

         The so-called imitation gold electroplating is not real gold but has a color similar to real gold. At present, it is mostly based on brass plating solution, and the color of imitation gold is mostly 18K. This is a copper-zinc binary alloy, which is the most popular in imitation gold electroplating.