When searching for gold jewelry we have all come across karats used to describe the quality of a piece. Most of us know that the higher the karat, the more expensive it will be. But what actually is akarat? What do the numbers all mean? What are the stamps on a gold piece?
Here is guide to understanding karats and their meaning.
What is a karat?
A karat is a measurement of the fineness of a piece of gold. The fineness of a piece represents theweight of fine metal that it contains in proportion to the total weight, including alloyed metals andany impurities. Diamonds and other gemstones are measured in carats per 200mg, meaning forevery 200mg of diamond, the higher the carat.
Gold uses karats. With gold, a karat is a fractional measure of purity for gold alloys, measured per 24parts whole. Pure gold that has not been mixed with any other metals is therefore the highestpossible karat, 24 karat (24k) gold.
Whilst more valuable, pure gold is rarely used for jewelry pieces because of its softness andmalleability, and tendency to scratch and mark. Therefore, it is usually alloyed with base metals foruse in jewelry, altering its malleability, color and other properties.
Which karat is the best?
As mentioned above, 24 karat gold is the highest possible number in pure gold, but it is often mixedwith other metals to create alloys that are more durable and more suitable for everyday wear injewelry. The more an alloy is mixed with pure gold, and therefore the less gold there is, the lowerthe number of karats.
Gold is most often mixed with either silver, zinc, copper, or palladium, creating a different number ofkarats and different colors of gold, such as rose gold or white gold.
Traditional karats used in gold jewelry number from pure gold at 24k, 22k, 18k, 14k or 10k.
Below is a chart that explains the conversion figures of gold from percentages and decimals tokarats.
Gold Conversion Chart
| Number of Karats | Fraction of Gold | % of Gold Purity | Millesimal fineness |
| 9K | 9/24 | 37.5 | 375 |
| 10K | 10/24 | 41.7 | 416/417 |
| 12K | 12/24 | 50.0 | 500 |
| 14K | 14/24 | 58.3 | 583/585 |
| 18K | 18/24 | 75.0 | 750 |
| 22K | 22/24 | 91.7 | 916/917 |
| 24K | 24/24 | 99.9 | 999 |
Does a Higher Karat Mean Higher Quality Gold?
To put it simply, no. Whilst 24k is the purest form of gold available, it does not mean it is of a higherquality. It means that there is more gold in it, and therefore it is more valuable. However, 24 karatgold is rarely used in making jewelry, as pure gold is too soft and can be easily damaged. Gold that isblended with more alloys is stronger. This is preferable especially for jewelry as the lower karatsmake a piece of jewelry more durable. The lower the karats in a ring, for example, the stronger it willbe.
The most common karat used in jewelry and generally the most sought after is 18k gold. This meansthat 18 out of 24 (3/4) parts of the piece is pure gold, a relatively high number. The one quarter thatis not gold will be made up of other alloys, making the jewelry more durable, better for everydaywear and slightly cheaper.
The lower the number of karats, the less amount of pure gold it contains, so the more affordable,more durable and more suited for daily use it will be.
What do the stamps mean?
Whilst it is possible come across some pieces of gold that are not stamped with purity, most gold,especially jewelry, will come stamped with what is known as a “hallmark” as a reference. Mostauthentic gold jewelry is stamped with some form of number or letter to indicate its karat and goldcontent. There are some common ones which can be helpful to understand when looking at goldthat make up the vast majority of the gold stamps.
Authentic gold jewelry should have a stamp to indicate the purity of the gold in the piece. This markcan be in several different formats. For example: 585, 14kt and 14K all mean 14 karat gold. All ofthese formats are easy to understand, except possibly the 3 digit number format.
There are also three digit numbers tell how pure the gold is as seen in the table above. They aremeasured in the thousandth, so if you want to know the purity percentage, just move the decimalpoint in one space. For example: 750 is 75.0% pure gold (or 18 karat).
Other stamps that can be included on gold pieces can indicate whether a piece has been plated withanother metal or not, e.g. GE, which stands for “Gold Electroplate”. This means that the base of apiece is made of one metal, usually brass, and a certain thickness of gold has been deposited on thebase, giving it a gold plating.
How can you tell if gold is real?
There are several ways to tell if gold is real. As mentioned above, any genuine gold pieces will bestamped with a hallmark stating the content of pure gold that it contains. Always check for thehallmark. The stamp is usually found on the clasp of a necklace or bracelet, or on the inner band of aring.
A few hallmarks, such as EPNS, EPBM, and GF, also indicate that a piece is not real gold. As with GoldElectroplate, these symbols indicate that a piece is not actually made of gold but another metal, andhas simply been gold plated.
A simple test is one that can be performed at home to check if gold is real. Gold is a heavy metal,and therefore, real gold should sink. Drop your gold item into a jug of water. Any piece of supposedgold jewelry that floats is likely to be fake gold.
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