What does ghel stamped on gold jewelry mean?

Answer 1

"ghel" is indicating that the piece is gold. Gehl is what we have derived our word for gold from.

GHE usually stands for "gold heavy electroplate". Not sure what the L is for here, perhaps to denote the manufacturer.

Answer 2

"even though they say ghel means gold, most likely its gold plated :("

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RE: previous answer... GHEL is not gold plated, rather it is gold filled, or sometimes called rolled gold. Gold filling yields a much better result than gold dipping or plating. It is less expensive than solid gold, and slightly more expensive than gold plated. It is actually sheets of real gold wrapped around a base metal as opposed to gold dipping, or gold plating. Gold filled jewelry can last a lifetime if properly taken care off. I have gold filled jewelry that I have had over 20 years and it shows no noticeable wearing away of the gold layer.