With gold prices spiraling upwards, it’s critical to make sure that the jewelry you are considering purchasing is real, and made of solid gold. And this undertaking can be even more mysterious when inspecting white gold jewelry. Taking your gold jewelry to a local jewelry store is the most convenient way to know your gold is legit. Luckily, there are a few proven ways of checking the gold content of your jewelry yourself.
The first method is by using acid. As a jeweler is testing your gold jewelry, they use very specific acids of certain strength, and the stronger the acid is, the better it’s able to dissolve away at the more purer alloys of gold. Since you aren’t able to measure something that accurately, you can merely use nitric acid. First make a minor scratch on the jewelry with a file in an area that will not be too noticed . Then using a dropper, apply a couple drops of nitric acid. If the jewelry is merely plated, the alloy inside will turn color or bubble as the acid dissolves it . If it’s real gold, there will be no chemical reaction . For gold chains, it’s often easier to test on the clasp at the end of the chain.
The second approach is by inspecting it visually and feeling it’s weight. Simply hold it in your hand and feel how heavy it is If it has some heft to it compared to other things you pick up, you know the density is high and there’s a good chance it’s gold. Silver alloys weigh approximately 70% than that of gold, so if it’s gold plated silver, it will be a noticeable difference. 14 karat gold and tungsten do have the same density and weight feel, however tungsten is a darker gray metal.
The last technique you can use is to check the jewelry to see if it is stamped and hallmarked. Gold Jewelry must 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). Similarly, 18K gold is 750.
Tips: Be cautious when buying from 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. Be sure to look for a second stamp on the jewelry next to the karat grade. This is from the actual manufacturer of the jewelry, also called a hallmark. Most gold jewelry that has a hallmark can be traced back to it’s original maker, so you should feel more confident about purchasing it.
Looking to find the best deal on gold chains, then visit www.LuxeChains.com. And when you’re done be sure to check out our wholesale diamonds website as well, LuxeWholesaleDiamonds.com
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