Gold,by itself, means all gold of 24 karat (24K) .But 24K gold is very soft, and it gets easily bent.Therefore it is usually mixed with other metals to increase its strength,hardness and durability. The karat marking shows what proportion of gold is mixed with other metals. Therefore Karat is a measure of gold's purity.The higher the percentage of pure gold, the higher will be the karat.

• 24 karat = 100% gold .It is pure gold.
• 18 karat = 75% gold .It contains 18 parts gold and 6 parts another metal or metals, making it 75% gold.
• 14 karat = 58.3% gold.It contains 14 parts gold and 10 parts another metal/metals, making it 58.3% gold.
• 10 karat = 41.6% gold. It contains 10 parts gold and 14 parts another metal/metals, making it 41.7% gold. 10k gold is the minimum karat designation that can be called gold in the US.

Common Misunderstanding: The term "karat", if spelled as "carat", with a "c," refers to the weight of a gemstone.

Buying gold can be really fun and exciting but at the same time quite confusing.Most gold jewelry is marked with its karat quality.Near the karat quality mark, we can see the name of the U.S. registered trademark of the company,in the form of a symbol,name or initials.

The standard of gold defines the world's currency system, where money represents a value in gold.

Gold and its usefulness:

• 24 karat = 100% gold It is too soft for jewelry
• 22 karat = 91.7% gold It is also very soft and not recommended for jewelry
• 18 karat = 75.0% gold It is recommended for fine jewelry
• 14 karat = 58.3% gold It is recommended for jewelry
• 12 karat = 50.0% gold It is not acceptable for jewelry
• 10 karat = 41.7% gold It is the legal minimum limit that isconsidered as real gold in the United States

Which one is better - 18 karat gold or 14 karat?
Both of them look great and wear beautifully. But 18K is considered more valuable because it contains a higher percentage of pure gold.

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