Gold Jewelry is a broad term used to classify anything made with gold and/or golden in hue. The term is non-specific as “gold jewelry” refers to a broad range of pieces which vary in terms of gold content, purity, composition, and value. When buying (or selling) a piece of gold jewelry it is important to know what the piece actually is made of to make sure that you are getting good value for your money.
Gold (Au) is a naturally occurring metal with a low melting point that can easily be worked with. For nearly 6,000 years gold has been sought out and used because of its distinct coloring, resistance to chemicals, and the malleability of the metal. It is the most malleable and ductile substance know which makes it easy to work with, but also makes it easy to scratch and hard to keep its shape. The introduction of other metals to gold creates an alloy that allows for more hardness and durability. Usually copper, silver and other metals such as iron are melded into the gold when it is used for jewelry or other items. While pure gold is, as the name implies, a golden (yellow) color, depending on the types of metals used in the alloy mixture the gold can take on varying colors and shades from white to green to pink.
The amount of gold within the alloy mixture is known as the purity of the gold or gold piece. The percentage of gold within the mixture relates to a Karat (K) which is the system by which gold is rated internationally. 24K is pure gold and the Karat rating goes down from there. A gold piece with 18K has 75% gold which means that it has 18 parts of gold to 6 parts of other alloys, 14K gold has 14 parts gold and 10 parts other alloys, 12K has 12 parts gold and 12 parts other alloys, etc. Although this is the basic system used when relating gold content to Karats, the actual accepted percentages per Karat varies in different countries.
Karats and/or gold content percentages are usually stamped directly on the piece. Karats are denoted with 18K, 14K, 10K, etc, but gold content can be marked as 750, 585, 417 relating to 75.0% (18K), 58.5% (14K), 41.7% (10K). Either marking is valid and accepted throughout the world although, as previously noted, the Karat to percentage translation may be different in various markets or parts of the world. Other markings on the jewelry may include the country of origin or a symbol from the jeweler/maker of the piece.
Differing gold content not only allows for strength and variation, it also lowers the cost of pieces since gold is much more valuable than the other metals that are generally used to mix with it. Anything above 10K can be considered solid gold, but it important to know that “solid” gold is not the same thing as pure gold which is 24K. Sometimes “gold jewelry” is just gold coated which means that cheaper metal has been covered with a gold coating giving the appearance of gold. Although some thicker applications of gold will make a more durable piece that may not wear down to the metal underneath, it is important to know the difference between a solid piece and one that is gold covered. Another deviation in gold jewelry is gold plating, which is the same thing as gold coating but implies that there is an even thinner layer of gold used. The thinner the layer the more likely the layer will be worn away exposing the metal below.
