The sterling silver and 22K gold vermeil accents are precious metals all the way through (vermeil is gold over sterling silver — unlike gold «plated» which I learned is usually just a super thin layer of gold over a much cheaper material). (featherfactor.com)
Gold Plating, on the other hand, has a very thin layer of gold (~ 0.175 micron) so the gold can quickly fade off the metallic jewelry. (soniahou.com)
They then applied a thin layer of gold over the cones and, voila, the shine from the gold and any light reflecting onto it was all but obliterated. (sciencedaily.com)