Gold, like no other metal, has a fascinating history and a special place in the world. For thousands of years it has been used as an ornament of kings, a currency and standard for global currencies, and more recently, in a wide range of electronic devices and medical applications. It is also the only metal that forms no oxide film on its surface in air at normal temperatures, meaning that it will never rust or tarnish. White gold is very popular right now. It can be in 18-karat or 14-karat gold (but not in 22-karat, as it is yellow gold). In jewelry of all kinds, you can find 18k and 14k yellow gold. 18k gold contains a higher percentage of precious metal than 14k gold. It is made up of 75% gold, which is then alloyed with other metals. This is to assure that the piece will be strong enough to withstand everyday wear. 14k gold is made up of only 58.5% gold and 41.7% other metals. This gives the gold piece its strength. This means that the gold color for a 14k gold piece is not as rich as the 18k gold.

24 karat is 100% gold.
Too soft so not considered suitable for jewelry

22 karat is 91.7% gold
Again, too soft so not considered suitable for jewelry

18 karat is 75.0% gold
Used successfully in fine jewelry

14 karat is 58.5% gold
Used successfully in all jewelry

12 karat is 50.0% gold
Not used for jewelry

10 karat is 41.7% gold
This metal is the defined karat limit legally considered to be real gold in the United States.

This entry was posted on Monday, March 1st, 2010 at 1:44 am and is filed under Education. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.