gold plate 
noun [mass noun]
1A thin layer of gold, electroplated or otherwise applied as a coating to another metal.Fans both young and old stood in awe at the trophy, which stands some three feet high and is made of 23-carat sterling silver, gold plate and the precious green stone malachite....
- On the left side of the frame is the Thunder Ranch logo in gold plate.
1.1Plates, dishes, or other objects made of or plated with gold.Mrs. Brawnings readily put down a wad of cash onto the little gold plate and led the way out to the car park.
verb (gold-plate) [with object]
Cover (something) with a thin layer of gold.The work of preparing the copper rings (some renewal of the old, some new) around the wooden mast and gold-plating them is going on....
- The electroplating guys had gold-plated it to Aldo Nova's specifications.
- In a system like this, it is unlikely that the gold-plating the connectors makes any difference at all, in terms of sound, durability, or otherwise, yet MidiLand does it anyway, which makes it all the more impressive.