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It there any technical difference between German vergoldet and French vermeil, or do the two words refer to the same thing (i.e., gold-plated solid silver)?

Hi,
Technically the same: vermeil (French), vergoldet (German) silver-gilt (English). Different linguistic terms do not imply the thickness of gold layer, nor the technique used for gilding (mercury or electro - gilding).
Regards

Thank you for the clarification.

In German, in older use, the term "Vermeil" exists and defines the technique of "Feuervergolden", gilding by applying a mercury-gold mix paste and then heating the item, so the mercury evaporates.
Refer to Brockhaus Konversationslexikon, 14th edition, 1908: Vermeil-Im Feuer vergoldetes Silber.

However, nowadays, of course all gold plating is praised as Vermeil, it sounds more luxury.
Regards

Interesting. If my memory serves me, methods using mercury aren't even legal anymore, the effects of mercury being so devastating. And to think when I was a child, we used to like to break mercury thermometers, so we could play with the mercury, rolling it around on the palms of our hands. No wonder we got in trouble for it!

I guess French, "Vermeil," does sound more elegant than German, "Vergoldet," but if you're searching online for German silverware (besteck), you get more hits with Vergoldet than Vermeil. I had just wondered if the two terms were equivalent.