Gold-filled Skinny Cuff - City Lights Gold

Minimalist hammered 14kt gold-fill cuff. I had a piece of lonely left-over thick gold fill wire that was too short to make a bangle, so I made a little cuff for myself. I love wearing mixed metals, and needed a little something to accent my favorite gold/silver ring.  Lightweight, but very sturdy, this is now my favorite piece of every-day jewelry! 

Hammered from 10 gauge (2.6mm thick) gold-filled wire.

WHAT IS GOLD-FILLED?

Gold-filled sheet and wire give the look of solid gold at a more inexpensive price, and it can stand up to every-day wear much better than gold-plate.  Gold-filled wire and sheet is constructed in two or three layers. The core metal is jewelers’ brass. Single clad gold-filled sheet has all the gold content in a single layer on one side. Double clad gold-filled sheet splits the gold content into surface layers on both sides of the sheet.  Lavender Cottage Jewelry gold-filled items are made from gold-filled wire.  I do not work with gold-fill sheet, as it will not stand up to the sawing, hammering and soldering need to create a piece of jewelry without damage to the gold layer on top.

Gold-filled round wire is "wire-clad", that is, the gold layer covers the entire surface of the wire.  The gold alloy is bonded to the surface of the brass core with heat and pressure.  Lavender Cottage Jewelry gold-filled bangles and rings use this gold-filled wire.

How thick is the gold layer?  Gold-filled is legally required to contain 5% or 1/20 gold by weight. This 5% is then described by the karatage of the gold alloy. Lavender Cottage Jewelry uses 14kt gold-filled, which is identified as "14/20 gold-filled".