With all the different types of metal used in jewelry making, it can get confusing trying to figure out which one is which. Even within gold jewelry, there are different types of gold. The most common ones are 14k or solid gold, gold plated, and gold-filled jewelry. Gold plated jewelry can further be divided into Vermeil gold jewelry. So, let's look at the differences between all the different types of gold-based jewelry.14K Jewelry: 14k jewelry will be made of solid 14k gold. The letter “K” stands for karat, and the number, in this case, 14, represents the percentage of gold. Gold is rarely used in its purest form, which is 24k,  and it is usually mixed with another metal, usually copper, to give it strength and durability. Hence, most solid gold jewelry will be made with 10k, 14k, 18k, and even 22k gold. Not all countries use karats as the “gold standard” to describe different gold types. In Europe, for instance, numbers such as 750 and 999 are used. The equivalent of 14k in Europe would be 585 gold.