Learn About Gold Jewelry

Have you ever wondered why most gold jewelry isn’t made out of pure gold? What’s the difference between 10K and 18K gold anyway? Well, keep reading, because we are about to answer those questions and more! You’ve probably heard about 24K gold before, but what does that really mean? In its purest form, gold is a rich, luxurious yellow color, but it is also extremely soft. Let me give you an example of just how soft pure gold is! If you bite a piece of 24K gold, you’ll leave your teeth marks! In order to make gold jewelry stronger and more durable, jewelers mix gold with alloy metals such as silver, nickel, copper, and zinc. When these other metals are mixed with pure gold, you can create different colors like white gold, rose gold, and even green gold! The more alloy metal you mix in with gold, the lower the karat will be. For example, 24K gold is 100% gold; 18K is 75% gold; 14K is 58.5% gold; and 10K is 41.6% gold. In the United States, jewelry has to be at least 10K to be sold as real gold, but in other countries the requirements are as low as 8K to 9K. When a piece of gold jewelry is made in the United States, the manufacturer is required by law to mark 10K-24K.