This is probably the biggest shock to those who don’t know yet, but no single or central regulatory body on the internet helps ensure that what you see on other websites is the real deal. No office or bureau can help you verify the authenticity of the items being sold to you online. This fact becomes important when you browse sites that feature super inexpensive beads and findings. These online stores are likely peddling plated items and not the genuine metals you seek.

The warning applies not just to gold-filled beads and other gold-filled findings but also to sterling silver items and other jewelry-making supplies. Unfortunately, many buyers are under the impression that a hallmark on the metal is the sole guarantee of being dealt with somewhat by online sellers.

As a store that has been selling silver, copper, and gold items for decades, let Xinar break the silence – many sellers mark their items with a hallmark even though the metal is not represented accurately. Unfortunately, this means that you’re not getting what you paid for.

Xinar’s gold-filled beads have always been of superior quality compared to other sites.

Unlike other sites, Xinar has never passed off or sold gold-plated items by calling them gold-filled, make sales at lower prices. Gold-plated items are not gold-filled, and the gold-filled and gold-plated will never be identical. The technique of applying a layer of gold onto a surface is known as gold plating. The density of the gold during the gold plating process varies widely between goldsmiths.

The Federal Trade Commission divides gold-plated products into two categories: .25 microns and .5 microns. Thinner gold coatings are also frequently mislabeled as “gold plated” when they are actually “gold electroplate” at .175 microns, or “gold washed” or “gold flashed” if the gold coating on the item is even less.

We know- these terms can be confusing, but that’s how the FTC classifies them. However, even if there are already legal definitions for gold-plated/electroplated/gold-filled items, these definitions don’t guarantee that every transaction you will have on other sites will be truthful and fair.

Some stores don’t mind engaging in deceptive marketing because they know that the average consumer doesn’t know about the technical processes used in creating gold jewelry.