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Rogers, AR--Blakeman's Fine Jewelry broke down seemingly complex jewelry terms for its followers in a Facebook post.

[Image source: Blakeman's Fine Jewelry/Facebook]

"Do you know the difference in gold karat, plated, solid and filled?" the post asked its followers.

Breaking down the question, the post said that "Karat weight" is the measurement of the ratio of gold to other metals (alloys) on a scale of 0 to 24, where 24k was the purest but soft gold that was uncommon in jewelry. Fine jewelry, noted the post, was most often done using 14k and 18k gold for strength and durability.

The "solid" form of gold, said the post, was indicative of its sound. "This is all gold," the post said. "If it's white or rose gold, it may be mixed with a % of other alloys for color and durability."

The post explained that ''filled' was a layer of gold bonded over a base metal such as sterling silver, brass, or copper. The layer, it said, was "5% or more of the piece."

Likewise, 'hollow' was a gold shell with an empty core, while "plated" was a method of coating the metal surface (mostly silver or copper) with a thin gold layer.

Link to the original post.