Gold Vermeil
Gold Vermeil (pronounced vehr-may; it's French!) is a legally regulated term that refers to a certain kind of quality jewelry. To be legally called "vermeil" in the United States, the jewelry piece must meet ALL of these conditions:
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Have sterling silver as its base material. Sterling silver is an alloy made of 92.5% pure silver and 7.5% other materials, and is a standard material used in high quality jewelry (versus, e.g., brass or copper).
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Be plated in gold that is at least 10k (10 karats). That means the gold is at least 41.7% gold content.
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Have gold plating that is at least 2.5 microns thick. A micron is 1/1000th of a millimeter.
