Gold-plated jewelry has a very thin coating of karat gold on top of a mixture of base metals like copper or silver. Often on gold-plated jewelry, the plate will eventually break through, allowing the gold to tarnish. Bryan Anthonys demi-fine gold Vermeil finished jewelry is made with precious metals instead of base metals, and we use 14k gold, which has 58.3% gold content. It’s plated nickel free and has an anti tarnish coating.