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Gold Jewellery
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Gold has always been valued for its beauty, purity and rarity. It is also highly malleable and can therefore be worked into intricate designs. However, because of its softness pure gold (24k) is often alloyed with base metals for use in jewellery. By mixing metals in this way it is possible to affect the hardness, ductility, melting point and colour of the precious metal.
You can determine how much gold an item of gold contains by identifying its caratage. This indicates the percentage of real gold in a piece of jewellery. 24k gold is pure gold. It is soft and easily broken and this is why it is not commonly used in the production of modern jewellery.
For this reason pure gold is often alloyed with base metals for use in jewellery. By mixing metals in this way it is possible to affect the hardness, ductility, melting point and colour of the precious metal.
Gold alloys are most commonly silver, zinc and copper. The mix will affect the final colour of the gold as well as making it harder and stronger.
The higher the caratage the higher the amount of pure gold contained in the item of jewellery. The popularity of different caratages changes between different cultures. For example in Europe we tend to prefer 18k gold but in India 22k gold is favoured.
Genuine gold jewellery should be hallmarked. This will give you an assurance that the gold you are buying is real and how much gold content it has. For example, 9 carat gold which is 37.5% pure should be hallmarked 375. 18 carat gold which is 75% pure should be marked 750.