The History Of The Carat Or Karat
The term Carat or Karat , is not to be confused with the unit used to measure the weight of gems. The term originated from the German gold coin called a ‘mark’ which was common in the 19th century. It weighed 24 carats, the same measurement used to weigh gems. Since they could not be produced in pure gold due to the metal being too soft, other metals were added, such as copper, to harden the coin. This then resulted in the term carat representing the percentage of its carat weight made up of pure Gold.
Isnt All Gold Jewelry Made Using Pure Gold
Contrary to popular belief, when you purchase a gold engagement ring or other type of jewelry, the metal used for the jewelry probably isnt 100% gold.
Pure gold, or 24K gold, is gold that hasnt been mixed with any other metals. 24K gold isnt used for jewelry for several reasons:
- First, its extremelysoft. Because pure gold is so soft, it bends and warps easily, making it a poor metal for jewelry that needs to retain its shape. Pure gold also scratches easily, meaning it doesnt take long for pure gold jewelry to become scuffed and unattractive.
- Second, itsvery bright. The color of pure gold is much brighter and more orange than what most people associate with the gold used in jewelry. Because of this, it generally isnt an attractive metal for rings, watches and other gold jewelry.
- Third, its extremely expensive. Pure gold contains almost twice as much gold as 14K gold , meaning it costs much more to produce jewelry using this metal. On the other hand, its the best type for selling your gold for cash in the future.
Because of these factors, its very uncommon for 24K gold to be used in engagement rings and other types of wearable jewelry in the United States and other Western countries.
Instead, 24K gold tends to be more popular in China and other Eastern markets, where its used in traditional Chinese wedding jewelry such as bangles, in gold bars and as a material for other collectible items.
Different Colours Of Gold
You’ve probably seen a variety of gold colours when looking at jewellery. The variations are all down to alloying with other metals.
You can identify 24ct gold by its very rich and warm golden colour. However, when you add copper, the resulting alloy is pink coloured and is known as rose gold, red gold or pink gold.
White gold includes a substantial amount of nickel, manganese or palladium. The white gold jewellery you will see in jewellery shops is almost always plated with rhodium, giving it a bright white colour. Unplated white gold is more of a warm grey and is not widely used in jewellery.
There is no such thing as 24ct white gold: the highest carat for white gold will generally be 18ct or 20ct, but the higher the caratage the more yellow the colour will be.
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Is Purity Different In Gold Less Than 14k
Buy anything less than 14K and the line between fine jewelry and costume jewelry becomes blurry. In fact, most fine jewelers dont even carry 12K or 10K. Pieces of jewelry that are 10K or greater should be stamped with an engraved marker indicating its purity, so be cautious if you cant locate a stamp.
With these considerations in mind, you should be able to maneuver your next jewelry purchase with ease and confidence. At Brinkers Jewelers, well help you find the perfect gold piece that matches your style and needs. And if you cant find the dream piece youre looking for, well help you create it.
Which Gold Is Best For You10k 14k 18k And 24k Gold Karat Compared
- Diamond Buying Guides/
- 10k, 14k, 18k, and 24k Gold Karat Compared
If youre looking for an engagement ring or another piece of gold-based jewelry, you should know that the type of gold you select can have a massive impact on its appearance, its feeling, and even its durability. In the engagement ring world, the type of diamond you choose should be your main focus – but gold is a close second.
But what is a gold karat, exactly? And how should you decide between the different gold purity levels? What are the pros and cons in each karat grade?
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How To Care For 9k Gold
To care for your 9 karat white, rose or yellow gold, its best to clean it with soap and water, using a soft cloth or brush. Other regular ways of caring for your 9K gold so it lasts a long time include the following:
- Do not expose it to chemicals and perfume, as it may cause reactions and eventual damage.
- Remember to plate your 9K white gold every 3-5 years to maintain its glow.
- Take off your 9K jewelry when doing manual activities like gardening, house chores, sports, or heavy work. The abrasives, acids, and dirt will dull its appearance.
- Remove your 9K gold when swimming in pools as the chlorine can damage the metal. Also, its best practice to remove rings when swimming anyway, because your fingers can shrink, and rings can fall off.
A Word About Gold Carat Rating
Ever wonder how gold is rated? You probably know already that the value of this precious metal is determined in carats, but what are carats? And why is one gold ring 24 carats and another is 18 carats? If you need the answers to these burning questions, keep reading to find out the basics on gold carat rating.
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Is 24k Gold Too Soft
No, not if the right techniques are used like we do here at GURHAN. In fact, when Gurhan traveled the world to learn about working with pure gold, this is exactly what he was investigating digging up the old-world techniques that have allowed ancient jewelry and objects to last until today. While 24k gold is more malleable, it is not fragile by any means.
How Many Carats Is Pure Gold
- 24 karat or 24-carat gold is the purest form of gold, although it is defined as being 99.9% pure since its virtually impossible to eliminate all impurities.
- This form of gold is soft and malleable. Its usually found in bullion bars and coins. Its not really suitable for making jewellery, because it is not hard enough to withstand a lot of wear.
- 22 karat or 22-carat gold is 91.6% pure. It consists of gold blended with alloys such as zinc, silver or copper.
- These are added to increase hardness and improve scratch-resistance. 22-carat gold is beautiful and highly tarnish-resistant.
- This type of gold is perfect for luxury jewellery, and a top choice for investors.
- 18 carat or 18-carat gold is 75% gold. This is the highest purity for white gold, which requires a substantial amount of silver and/or platinum to obtain the white colour.
- 12 karat or 12-carat gold is made up of 12 parts gold, 12 parts another metal. Its therefore 50% pure gold.
- 9 karat or 9-carat gold is 9 parts pure gold thats 37.5% pure. A 9ct gold ring, blended with alloys such as silver and zinc, is far stronger and more resilient than a 24-carat ring would be.
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What If I Already Have Gold
If you already have gold that youre not sure about the purity of, you can take it to a local jeweler that has the supplies to test its purity. While its technically possible to buy the supplies to test the gold yourself, most methods for testing gold purity either require expensive equipment or acids that can be dangerous, so finding a professional to help is the easier route.
But you can save yourself that trouble with any gold you buy moving forward by doing a little bit of basic research into the type of gold youre buying and the company youre buying it from.
Understanding how gold purity works is an important step in becoming an informed investor. Make sure you pay attention to what youre actually buying each time you purchase gold so you know youll be satisfied with the quality of the investment youve made.
What Is An Alloy
Pure gold is very soft, so it is rarely used on its own. Instead, other metals are added to gold to alter its durability, strength, color and price. This mixing of metals produces what’s known as an alloy. Some common metals used in gold alloys are silver, nickel, copper, zinc and platinum. Silver is a popular component in gold alloys because it is tarnish-resistant, which helps keep it shiny and scratch-free.
Different alloys also determine whether gold is hypoallergenic or not. For example, like gold, silver is a hypoallergenic metal, so people are unlikely to have an allergic reaction from gold/silver alloys. However, low-carat golds often contain higher portions of potentially allergenic metals. Therefore, people who are allergic to certain metals should opt for high-carat gold. Additionally, some natural alloys, like cadmium, are toxic and cannot be used to make jewelry.
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What Are Karats
Karats, spelled “carats” outside of North America, are the little numbers stamped on a piece of gold in the format of “xxK” or “xxKT”. The numbers refer to the type of gold and to the actual gold content in the particular piece of jewelry.
Heres more information on karats:
- Karat is a measurement of the ratio of gold to other metals or alloys.
- Karats are measured on a scale from 0 to 24.
- The higher the karat number, the more gold there is and the less other metal content.
- Other metals and alloys could include copper, nickel , silver, or palladium.
With this in mind, 24-karat gold is the purest gold you can buy.
What Is A Carat
If you are jewellery shopping, you may have seen the word carat used in two different ways. Its also spelled differently depending on which country you shop from. Lets cut through the confusion
What does carat mean? The word carat is thought to come from the Greek word for carob seed. It is derived from a measurement of weight.
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Carat In Gold Carat In Diamond
Carat In Gold & Carat In Diamond
Some swear by gold and some sigh for diamondsare treasured by the connoisseurs of fine living and both have a measure in common- carat. But it does not mean the same. For gold, it is a measure of purity and for diamond of weight.
In Africa, the kuara seeds of the African Coral Tree were used as counterweights for weighing diamonds. The term Carat is derived from the kuara seed or from the Greek word Keration or the kernel of the Carob bean that comes from the Locust tree. 1 carat equals to 0.20 grams and 100 points. 5 carats equals 1 gram. In the diamond industry, even a fraction of a carat causes remarkable cost difference and hence precision is crucial.
In the gold industry carat stands for the percentage of pure gold in a jewellery piece. The Higher the carat, the higher the gold content or its purity ratio. In India and some of the countries people spell it as Karat instead of carat when it comes to gold.
24-carat gold is fine , 18-carat gold is 75 per cent gold, 12-carat gold is 50 per cent gold, and so forth. Gold is a relatively soft metal and high carat gold tends to be easily damaged hence the 24 carat gold jewellery needs to be carefully maintained. Usually copper or silver is mixed with gold to make the jewellery. As per government standards, jewellers do the 22 carat jewellery or ornament. So, when you are choosing your favourite gold or diamond creation keep in mind the importance of carat.
What Is The Difference Between 10 14 18 & 24 Carat Gold
Gold is a precious commodity that is used to manufacture coins, artifacts and jewelry. It also has health uses, such as in dental implants and crowns. The value of gold is measured by purity, which is determined by the number of other metals the gold contains. Gold dealers use several methods to evaluate the purity of gold, including the use of nitric acid. Typically, gold is offered in 10, 14, 18 and 24-carat choices, each representing a different level of purity.
Carat Definition
A carat is a unit of measurement used to describe the purity of an element based on 24 whole parts. Jewelry that is entirely composed of a single element is considered 100 percent pure and is described as being 24-carat. However, gold that is 100 percent pure is typically too soft to be made into jewelry and is often mixed with another metal to ensure a durable structure.
Composition
Though 24-carat gold is the softest of all gold carats, it is still the most expensive gold available for purchase. 24-carat gold is defined as 100 percent pure. 18-carat gold is considered 75 percent pure because only 18 of its 24 parts are gold. Fourteen-carat gold is 58.3 percent pure, as 14 out of its 24 parts are made of gold, and 10-carat gold is 41.6 percent pure, with only 10 of its 24 parts consisting of gold.
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How Much Is A One
It is impossible to answer this question because every diamond is unique. It is valued not just on its weight but also three other factors:
- Clarity a scale ranging from Flawless to Slight Inclusions tells you how clear or cloudy the diamond is.
- Colour while some colours are rare, colourless diamonds are the most valuable.
- Cut a factor influenced by the skill of the cutter and the type of cut you choose.
- A one-carat diamond can cost anything from around £2,000+. However, a coloured or very clear and colourless diamond will cost far more.
At PureJewels, we procure diamonds from the world-famous cutting centre in Surat, India . Once they arrive in our workshop, our master jewellers select the brightest to be set into our exclusive collection of engagement rings. How much do you want to spend on a one-carat diamond? If you come to the showroom in person, you can decide how much to spend on the diamond in your engagement ring selecting whether weight, colour or clarity is most important to you. In other words, a one-carat diamond could cost as much or as little as you can afford.
Did you know? The worlds biggest cut diamond the Star of Africa is 530 carats, and belongs to the Queen of England.
What Is A Hallmark
If youve shopped for jewelry in Europe, or even imported pieces over in the U.S., chances are you’ve come across a few strange images on the jewelry which may or may not be accompanied with an actual purity number stamp. These are called hallmarks and do not need tobe accompanied by a specific purity stamp. If you know the hallmark, you will know just which purity is being guaranteed.
The symbols you will come across will vary by country and time period. Not only are hallmarks great for identifying the gold or precious metal used in the piece, they also help date the jewelry.
Here are clues to look for:
- An octagon shape in the hallmark shows gold.
- If the hallmark includes a three-digit number, this is most likely the purity of gold. For example, if the number 585 is stamped inside the octagon, this shows that you have a piece of gold that is 14K, or .585 in purity.
- Other symbols stamped into the gold show which company submitted the piece for hallmarking, and which assay office tested and stamped the hallmark of approval. Hallmarks give you peace of mind that the gold you bought is genuine and has been tested and certified.
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How Big Is A One
This will depend on the cut of your diamond, so its essential to go and try some on.
A round, one-carat diamond will measure around half a centimetre it will not overwhelm your finger, being around a third of a typical finger width.
While a one-carat diamond has an undeniable impact, a cluster of well-cut diamonds can be equally glamorous. You might compliment your one-carat diamond with some additional stones in a halo around it, or add some subtle diamonds on the shoulders of the ring.
The best way to see how big a one-carat diamond will be is to try some on. Why not come in and try on some of our diamonds?
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So How Expensive Is Gold
The short answer is: very! At the time of writing this article gold is 75 times more expensive than silver. This is the reason why we often use sterling silver, gold vermeil or gold filled in our jewellery designs, while only making small pieces or highlights with solid gold.
There truly is no such thing as cheap gold jewellery: don’t let anybody tell you otherwise. If you’ve got some inexpensive gold jewellery and it keeps turning your skin green or black, then it’s highly unlikely to be gold at all.
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Purpose Of Stamps Or Hallmarks
While you may come across some pieces of gold that are not stamped with purity, most gold, especially jewelry, will come stamped with what’s called a “hallmark” as a reference and even a selling point. Jewelry stores or big box stores in the U.S. stamp all gold with purity. While U.S. gold standards enforce the stamping of purity somewhere on the jewelry, you may still come across a piece of unmarked jewelry, such as antique or handmade pieces.
The stamps and any laws behind stamping jewelry will vary by country, and if you come across an unstamped piece of gold that is marketed as of a certain purity, its best to proceed with caution and test the gold using a gold testing kit.
Sometimes, jewelry that is stamped as being a certain purity can be fake or misrepresented. This is more common when ordering online from a foreign country. Usually in cases like these, the price is a good indicator of faux metals. The adage you get what you pay for holds true, especially when dealing with precious metals. Should you find yourself in the receiving end of such a situation, its a good idea to file a report with the Federal Trade Commission .
