TESTING FOR GOLD

People email me all the time "Is it real gold?". What I tell them is what I will explain to everyone out there in ebay land.

 What is GOLD? Gold is a natural ore mined from the earth, in is't pure state it is 24 Karat . Gold jewelry sold around the world has different purity that can range from a low Karat (8kt) to (22kt) although you may not see 24kt gold in jewelry,  it is reserved for gold bars, shot and coins. Since 24kt gold is soft and plyable this makes it unsuitable for jewelry wear.

GOLD CARAT or KARAT (EUROPEAN)

• 24kt or Pure Gold has content of 99.9% GOLD .999 Fine
• 22kt--91.7% Gold --- Stamped 917
• 20kt--83.3%              
• 18kt--75%                  Stamped 750
• 14kt--58.5%               Stamped 585  
• 12kt--50.0%
• 10kt--41.7%               Stamped 417
• 9kt  --37.5%               Stamped 375
• 8kt  --33.3%
• Silver--- 9.25               Stamped 925 (Sterling)
• Silver ---9.99               Stamped .999 (Fine or Pure)
• Platinum---PLAT, 950PT, 950 PLAT, 900PLAT  10%IRID        

Note: Other gold stampings such as 15kt, and 16kt gold are not used any longer. When a 15kt stamp appears in jewelry,  this would indicate it is a antique piece. Most 16kt gold is used for dental purposes only and you will not see it used in jewelry. Most of the other stampings 8kt, 9kt and 12kt are of a lesser gold quality and are not generally highly desirable.

European stamping of equalivant gold is simple, a thee digit number for the related stamp is the quality or finess of Gold.

Actual Gold Test by Nick P.

1. Check Color, is it White, Yellow, Tricolor, or Rose Color? Beware of white always check stampings as Silver (925), and Platinum (950 PLAT) are sometimes mistaken for white gold!
2. Check Stamping marks (see above for referance) with a 10x jewelers loupe or better. Beware of other types of markings such as GE, HGE, GP, EP, GF, G.F. as these are ALL GOLD PLATED markings and should be avoided. Sometimes you will see other letters or writings and or symbols these are manufacture marks and if English, date markings and orgin of piece.
3. Sometimes a piece of jewelry has no markings or stamps of any kind do not be alarmed . Many jewelry item stampings are over time have worn off, have been resized or never even stamped orginally! As many Antique pieces were never marked it did not become a standard practice in the US untill the 1900's.
4. Acid testing, not recommend for the general public as ACID is dangerous and will damage clothing and skin.
5.  This is the process we use at Valley of  Jewels for proper identification of our gold content. An average Acid test kit has six test acids 10kt, 14kt, 18kt, 20kt. PLATINUM, and SILVER. The jewelry is rubbed onto a small slate (this removes a very small content of gold) and then the acid is applid to the gold . The gold will stay if it is real or may fade away as it will be fake or plated. The gold is then tested up the scale for purity starting with 10kt then 14kt up to 20kt as it may not stay on the slate with a 18kt acid and will on a 14kt acid would indicate it is of 14kt gold.This may take some practice, it is always best to check with a base metal for comparison.

Thank you for looking at my page, I hope you may find it helpful.