What does 14K Italy Mean? Is it real gold?
Gold might be the most precious metal in existence, but there are many types/ classes of gold that can be very confusing for you or anyone else for that matter to identify and choose the best kind of gold jewelry.
One of the confusing types of gold is 14K Italy. It’s also one of the most common types of gold that is loved and disliked in equal measure, but is 14K Italy gold good quality gold, or is it a scam?
Well, keep reading to learn more about the 14K Italy gold.
Does 14K Italy mean its real gold
Let’s start with the basics – the term 14K means that a piece of jewelry has 14 components of gold, out of the 24 parts that comprise 100 percent. The other ten parts are therefore other metals or alloys. The “Italy” part refers to the source of the gold.
This means that the piece of jewelry you’ve bought is made out of Italian gold that isn’t 100 percent pure and gold and jewelry of this type are common in Italy. Obviously, there are some counterfeits out there, but the term itself is genuine.
As for the fineness markings, 14 parts gold indicates that 58.5% of the chain is made of gold. Therefore, you can sometimes notice a 585 stamp on jewelry made in Europe, instead of 14K that the US standard. Italians are an exception since they usually use the 14K Italy marking.
What Is Italian Gold? 5 Ways To Tell If It’s Real
Buying gold jewelry can be a bit stressful for someone who’s new to it. There’s a lot of terminologies and inside knowledge that you need to tackle before actually making a purchase. This may be overwhelming to some and it may lead to some bad decisions.
One such term is “Italian gold”. It’s also known as Italian 14K gold and it’s not as common as other markings you may find on gold. Here we will dive into what 14K Italian gold is, how did the term come about, and what you need to know about it.
Other Gold Markings
It’s also useful to compare these markings to others that can be found on gold. That way you’ll know how 14K Italy gold compares to others and what you get in terms of quality. The most common markings you can find are: 8,10,12, 14, 20,22,24K. As is the case with Italy 14K, these refer to how pure the gold is.
8K gold is rarely seen these days since most markets have moved on from it, but you can still find it in some flea markets and it’s commonly used in some countries of the world, but rarely in the west.
Other Ways To Mark It
Marking is used to referring to the purity of gold, but there are different ways to mark it and, European and therefore Italian gold may use its own system of representing the purity. For instance, 14K Italian gold can also be marked as 585 gold.
Simply put, that is a percentage of gold in a piece of jewelry. So, if the gold consists of 14 parts of gold and 10 parts of other metals, it has a 58.5 percent purity – hence the marking. Another common marking you’ll notice is 750 Italy gold – it’s also known as 18 K gold.
Look
Knowing the distinctive features of this gold type will help you recognize it more quickly. Like any other gold, 14K Italy is yellow, but its color is more vibrant than most other gold-type shades. However, you can notice that it is noticeably paler than 24K gold.
Remember that the color of various 14K gold chains can vary slightly because of different metal alloys added during the process. The curiosity is that 14K Italy is a lot harder than 18K and 24K gold.
How much is 14KT Italy gold worth?
Generally, a 14k Italian gold piece is priced at an average of $23.50/gram, although the price will vary depending on the market conditions. If you are selling 14K Italy bracelets at a reputable store, you always expect to get around 80% of the spot market value of the jewelry at that time.
Italian gold is considerably expensive primarily because of the high importation costs, specifically the import tax placed by the US government on important Italian jewelry. This tax has been in place for decades now, meaning you can’t blame the current administration. This import tax on gold jewelry from Italy is also unlikely to go away.
The interesting bit is that gold imported into the US from other countries isn’t charged import tax, but if you really look at it, you will notice that the high tax on Italian gold jewelry actually makes sense.
If you are a jewelry enthusiast, you know that Italian gold jewelry is the best quality and also the most beautiful gold jewelry worldwide.
So, all you need to do to make sure that the gold jewelry you are buying is actually authentic 14K Italy gold is to look for the Italy stamp, as well as the percentage purity. That Italian stamp is what makes that gold jewelry worth the high price tag.
Differentiate Real 14K Italy Gold Chain From Fake
Being the most common gold, 14K is also the most counterfeited type. Therefore, you can often find 585 and 14K Italy marks imprinted on a jewelry chain with no gold in it. Let’s see how to notice the fraud.
- 1. Quality Markings
The first thing to look out for is the markings. Essentially, the finest Italian gold jewelry will have the 18K mark or higher, and the 14K variants are also quite common. As mentioned above, you can tell that you have high-quality Italian gold by looking for the 585 mark on the 14K gold, 750 or .7500 for the 18K gold, and .4167 for the 10K gold.
A word of caution, though – the 585 or the 14K gold jewelry also happens to be the most commonly forged marks, and it’s not surprising to find these marks on jewelry with zero gold content.
There is also the fact that these are gold-filled and gold-plated jewelry with the 14K Italy or the 585 markings, and the dad bit is that these ‘gold’ pieces are often made of 12K plating or gold fillings, which mean that you only have jewelry that is 5% pure gold and not 58.5% as expected.
You also need to be aware of the rolled-gold jewelry that is made of a gold coating, and it’s only 2.5% pure. With these considerations in mind, you really need to be very careful when looking for authentic 14K Italy gold jewelry.
- 2. Dubious Price
Be aware that a ridiculously low price is the first warning that the chain is probably fake. On the other hand, a bit wiser merchants will ask for a significant amount of money to make the jewelry they sell look more authentic.
In most cases, cheaper pieces available online or in shady markets are fake. The only way to avoid such fraud is to buy jewelry from reputable stores.
- 3. Bite the gold
Sound a little dramatic, but it works. Real 14K or 18K Italian gold will dent when you bite down it, but fake gold will not. But this isn’t a 100% trustworthy method because the gold-plated and the gold-filled gold pieces will also have dents.
- 4. Smell
If your jewelry has a coin-like smell, it means that the gold is not genuine. Unlike other metals, noble metals like gold don’t have any scent.
- 5. Tinge/ Discoloration
Fake gold will have black or green spots on the surface after some time, but this won’t be the case with pure gold.
- 6. Weight
Real gold has quite a density and is heavy, while fake gold is more lightweight. However, it is not a definite sign since some hollow pieces of jewelry can also be light. The best option is to get it checked.
- 7. Weight
Real gold is quite dense and heavy, while fake gold is more lightweight.
- 8. Acid Test
The most reliable way to test your 14K Italy gold chain is the acid test. You can buy an acid kit online and check your jewelry on your own, but a better option is to let an expert do it for you.
Almost every jewelry store has the equipment to do this test. The procedure is not complicated. A jeweler will sample it by scratching the chain over a testing stone and applying nitric acid to the scratch. In the end, it will be enough to estimate the jewelry after a chemical reaction.
- 9. Consult an expert
If you are still unsure or you just don’t go through the trouble, the surest way for you to determine the authenticity of gold is by getting the gold jewelry evaluated by an expert.
Pros and Cons of Italy gold Chain
Below are the important benefits of pros and cons of the Italy Gold Chain:
Pros of 14k Italy gold Chain
- Italy gold is known to be the materials of beautiful chains
- Great quality of 14k gold chains
- Available in precise designs
Cons of 14k Italy gold Chain
- Costly
- Available in varied counterfeits
Conclusion
To sum up the whole discussion, Italian Gold is not having a higher range of intrinsic value than gold which is obtained from the rest of the parts of the world. Plus, it has the price which is always determined by the side of the market on the basis of Karat and weight. Italy Gold is known to be pretty much the standard for good gold.
There might be a lot of confusion about 14K Italy jewelry, and there are many imitations and fake gold jewelry with the Italy mark, but 14K Italy gold jewelry is not a scam.
As for the last so many decades, being made in Italy, these gold pieces have made itself to be the standard ones for the ideal gold jewelry.
Sophie
Sophie is a fashion&jewelry lover. She is also a fashion jewelry manufacturer that helps thousands of small businesses to grow and also do business with some big fashion jewelry brands. She is a true jewelry expert and she will keep sharing some information you are looking for.
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