Gold is a timeless classic statement of personal style,elegance and sophisticated beauty. Without a doubt, Gold is one of the most precious metals in the world.It remains a favorite for setting gemstones. Gold lasts forever,it does not rust or corrode . The term “Karat” refers to the amount of gold used in proportion to another metal or metals.
What’s a karat?
Gold,by itself, means all gold of 24 karat (24K) .But 24K gold is very soft, and it gets easily bent.Therefore it is usually mixed with other metals to increase its strength,hardness and durability. The karat marking shows what proportion of gold is mixed with other metals. Therefore Karat is a measure of gold’s purity.The higher the percentage of pure gold, the higher will be the karat.
- 24 karat = 100% gold .It is pure gold.
- 18 karat = 75% gold .It contains 18 parts gold and 6 parts another metal or metals, making it 75% gold.
- 14 karat = 58.3% gold.It contains 14 parts gold and 10 parts another metal/metals, making it 58.3% gold.
- 10 karat = 41.6% gold. It contains 10 parts gold and 14 parts another metal/metals, making it 41.7% gold. 10k gold is the minimum karat designation that can be called gold in the US.
Common Misunderstanding: The term “karat”, if spelled as “carat”, with a “c,” refers to the weight of a gemstone.
Buying gold can be really fun and exciting but at the same time quite confusing.Most gold jewelry is marked with its karat quality.Near the karat quality mark, we can see the name of the U.S. registered trademark of the company,in the form of a symbol,name or initials. If there’s no trademark ,look for another piece. The country of origin should also be shown.
The standard of gold defines the world’s currency system, where money represents a value in gold.
Gold and its usefulness:
- 24 karat = 100% gold It is too soft for jewelry
- 22 karat = 91.7% gold It is also very soft and not recommended for jewelry
- 18 karat = 75.0% gold It is recommended for fine jewelry
- 14 karat = 58.3% gold It is recommended for jewelry
- 12 karat = 50.0% gold It is not acceptable for jewelry
- 10 karat = 41.7% gold It is the legal minimum limit that is considered as real gold in the United States
Which one is better – 18 karat gold or 14 karat?
Both of them look great and wear beautifully. But 18K is considered more valuable because it contains a higher percentage of pure gold.
Gold Basics
Gold plated Jewelry
Jewelry can be plated with gold in a number of ways. Gold plate jewelry refers to items that are either electroplated, mechanically plated,or plated by any other means with gold and a base metal.
Gold-filled/ gold overlay and rolled gold plate
It has a layer of at least 10 karat gold mechanically bonded to a base metal. If the jewelry is marked with one of these terms, the term should follow the karat quality of the gold used (for example,12K RGP or 14K Gold Overlay.
Gold electroplate
It has a layer of a minimum of 10 karat gold deposited on a base metal by an electrolytic process. The terms gold flashed or gold washed describe the products that have an extremely thin electroplating of gold. It wears away more faster than gold plate, gold-filled or gold-electroplate.
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