Gold Jewelry Buying Guide
This brief review of gold jewelry will assist you with making your first gold jewelry purchase. Even if you are an avid collector and investor in gold jewelry, this may provide a nice refresher on the topic. And congratulations on your new gold jewelry purchase. We at Jewelry Outlet are here to assist you in any way that we can.
What are Gold Karats?
The main thing to look for when purchasing gold, is the karat “k”. The karat represents how much gold content the jewelry has (as opposed to the content of the alloys). The karat mark is located next to the manufacturer’s trademark. This ensures that the karat mark is accurate.
100% pure gold is marked as “24k”. However, it is rare to find 24k jewelry, because pure gold is very soft and is more likely to scratch and be damaged from normal wear/usage. Again, this is the reason why gold is alloyed with other harder metals. Generally most jewelry sold will be either 14K or 10K (preferable for rings or in cases where jewelry may be banged around and damaged).
| Gold Karat | Stamps, Markings | Pure Gold Content | Alloyed With Other Metals | Note |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 24K | 24K, 24 kt, 999 | 100% | 0% | Tends to bend or scratch easily |
| 18K | 18K, 18kt, 750 | 75% | 25% | Ideal for jewelry |
| 14K | 14K, 14kt, 585 | 58.5% | 41.5% | Ideal for jewelry |
| 10k | 10K, 10kt, 417 | 41.7% | 58.3% | Affordable for jewelry |
Editor’s Note:
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