What Is a Dainty Gold-Filled Necklace?

Jewelry comes in all shapes, sizes, materials, and designs, making it a fun accessory to experiment with to change up a look and express your personality. Dainty, gold-filled necklaces are typically simple, lightweight, and demure, with relatively small, delicate features. Gold-fill or silver gives it a timeless, classic look, no matter what you wear with it.

It’s easy to imagine a dainty necklace when you compare it with its counterpart, a statement piece. While statement pieces can be fun with certain outfits or occasions, you wouldn’t likely wear them often. Dainty pieces compliment an outfit, while a statement piece is the outfit, in a sense. It gets all of the attention - the “wow” factor to an outfit.

Statement necklaces are typically bold, relatively large, and definitely have an attitude. If you’re a visual person, imagine a dainty necklace as more like jeans and a crisp, white button-down, while a statement piece is like a pair of red leather pants and a studded halter top. While this is an exaggeration, you get the idea.

Is Gold-Filled Considered Fine Jewelry?

Jewelry materials range in quality, and there are many types of “gold” jewelry. You’ve likely heard of 14k gold and 24k gold, as well as gold-plated and gold-filled. Have you ever wondered about the differences between them?

Gold’s purity is measured in ‘carats’ and gives you a sense of how much pure gold is included in the alloy. A piece with 24 carats is pure gold, mixed with no other metals. While this may sound like it would be the finest jewelry material, it is actually quite malleable and soft. This means a 24k gold necklace scratches and dents rather easily and may change shape over time.

For this reason, many jewelry makers prefer to make their jewelry using a lower caratage, so it is more durable. By blending 24k gold with a percentage of other metals, such as copper or silver, the resulting metal retains many of the beautiful elements of gold without compromising its strength.

Related: What Is Gold-Filled Jewelry and Why Does It Matter?

According to the World Gold Council, “The minimum caratage for an item to be called gold varies by country. In the US, 10 carat is the legal minimum accepted standard of gold caratage, 14 being the most popular.”

Gold-filled jewelry is not pure gold, but experts still consider it to be “fine” because it contains at least 5% of the item’s total weight. The highest quality gold-filled jewelry will have a relatively thicker layer of 14k gold over a core of alloy metal(s).

On the other hand, costume or fashion jewelry will have a thin layer of 8k gold, for instance, or a man-made metal containing no gold at all. Even the outer layer is fabricated from synthetic material. Unlike costume jewelry made with less than 5% of the item’s weight (often called gold-plated or gold overlay), gold-filled jewelry will last a lifetime, never tarnishing or changing colors.

For many women, there comes a time when they want a more mature and sophisticated jewelry collection. Costume jewelry is inexpensive, but it often looks inexpensive. As you elevate your style, you want to add in fine jewelry that exudes quality and workmanship, purchased from a local jewelry designer, rather than pieces you can find in a big box store.

Related: Local Austin Jewelry vs. Mass-Produced Jewelry

If you are investing in jewelry, you don’t have to spend a fortune to build your collection. Pure gold jewelry is rare, not because it is finer, but because its composition is not ideal for jewelry one would wear regularly. A dainty gold-filled necklace may look delicate, but don’t let its look deceive you. It will hold up better over time than a pure gold necklace.

Why Dainty Jewelry Is Always On-Trend

Adding a few dainty gold-filled necklaces to your wardrobe is always a good idea. Fine jewelry lasts decades and never goes out of style. Even if it breaks, the local artist who made it or a fine jewelry store will often repair it for you.

Dainty gold-filled necklaces appeal to just about anyone, even those with more eccentric tastes. You can dress them up or down, layer them with other delicate or statement necklaces, and wear them with just about anything and for any occasion.

The versatility of these necklaces makes them a collection must, so stock up on necklaces you love when you see them, knowing you will wear them over and over again in multiple ways. For these same reasons, they make excellent gifts for graduation, bridesmaids, Mother’s Day, and birthdays.

Examples of Dainty Necklaces

You can spot celebrities wearing dainty necklaces everywhere, from the Oscars to the grocery store. That’s what makes dainty necklaces so great - they’re appropriate for any occasion or no particular occasion.

Right now, the dainty gold-filled necklace trend boasts simple chains with a small accent piece, such as a simple bar that lies horizontal or vertical, a coin with a symbol or initials engraved on it, or a variety of small stones. Pearls are always popular, as are turquoise, labradorite, and pyrite. Don’t be afraid to mix metals, too. A necklace looks edgy with a section of gold-filled links combined with links of oxidized sterling silver.

You can also change up the chain metal from the medallion metal. For instance, wear an oxidized sterling silver chain with a gold-filled medallion hanging from it. Try a gold-filled chain with a silver coin and a gold-filled cross.

By mixing metals, you not only create a confident look, but you also can wear it with absolutely anything. Have a gold clutch you love? Shake things up by adding a mixed-metal necklace instead of head-to-toe gold. Wearing a belt with an oxidized silver buckle but love gold? Throw on a dainty gold-filled necklace with accents of silver and pearls to pull it all together.