With gold prices climbing to all time highs , it’s more important than ever to make sure that the jewelry you are considering purchasing is made of real gold. And this task can be even more complicated when inspecting white gold jewelry. Taking your gold jewelry to a reputable jeweler is the most convenient way to know your gold is legit. Luckily, there are several ways of checking yourself that the jewelry is solid gold.
The first way of checking is by using acid. When a jeweler tests gold, they use very specific acids of certain strength, and the stronger the acid is, more likely it’s able to dissolve away at the higher karat grades of gold. Since you are not able to measure something that well , you can merely use nitric acid. First make a modest scratch on the jewelry with a file in an area that will not be too noticed . Then using an eye dropper, apply a couple drops of nitric acid. If the jewelry is simply plated, the alloy iniside will change color or bubble as it’s dissolved by the acid. If it’s made of gold, there will be no chemical reaction . For gold chains, it’s often easier to test on the clasp .
The next way to to check your gold is by inspection . Simply hold it in your hand and feel it’s weight. If it feels heavy, there’s a good chance it’s gold. Silver alloys weigh approximately 70% that of gold, so if it’s gold plated silver, it will be a noticeable difference. Tungsten is around the same weight of 14 karat gold , however tungsten is a darker grey metal .
The last technique you can use is to check the jewelry to see if it is stamped and hallmarked. Gold Jewelry is required by law to be stamped either in it’s purity form, or it’s karat grade. Karat grades commonly used are 10K, 14K, 18K, etc. Purity is a 3-digit number calculated by the karat divided by 24, since pure gold is 24 karat gold . And then you just multiply by 100. So 14K is 14 divided by 24 times 100, which is 583 (or sometimes written as 585). Likewise , 18K gold is 750.
Tips: Be careful if buying from websites such as Craigslist. If you decide to buy something from a stranger, ask them to meet you at a jewelry store so the jeweler can inspect the item in question. Also look for a second stamp on the jewelry near the karat grade. This is from the actual manufacturerof the jewelry, also called a hallmark. Higher end gold jewelry tend to have the manufacturers logo which would allow you to trace back the origin of the jewelry. Therefore you can feel more confident you’re buying an item that was stamped correctly .
Check our website for more about white gold chains and the different alloys used to make gold jewelry.
