What makes 18 carat gold

This is where karat and karat gold come into play. K stands for karat not to be confused with carat, which is the weight measure for gemstones and refers to the percentage of gold in an alloy. Simply put, the karat and karat system makes it easier for the average person to determine the amount of pure gold in a piece.

How can you tell the difference with your gold jewelry on your own? Jewelers usually engrave the karat on an inconspicuous part of the jewelry, such as on the clasp of bracelets and necklaces, or on the inner band of rings. Because of its greater percentage of gold, an karat piece will fetch a higher price than one of karat gold. A secondary metal is often included not to dilute the purity of gold intentionally, but rather to make the overall substance harder.

This system emerged in the Medieval era with a coin known as a mark. Marks were weighed in terms of carats a system of weight still used to weigh gems. But pure marks were nearly impossible to produce because gold is too soft a substance. Harder metals like copper had to be added to produce a more durable alloy; marks were then evaluated based on what percentage of their core material was made of gold.

Note that karats, a system for measuring the purity of gold, are different than carats, which are commonly used to measure the weight of a diamond. Not only are they used to evaluate different jewelry elements gold vs. The karat rating of a gold item tells you nothing about the weight, and the carat size of a diamond tells you nothing about its purity. On top of the above, while carat is used to price diamonds , karat, while does have an affect on pricing, is not part of gold's pricing system.

Initially, you may believe this means 24k gold is the best possible option. After all, purity seems to be a good thing - not only will the piece be more attractive and more sought-after, but it will also carry bragging rights, correct? Not necessarily. Now, how pure is this 22K gold? So, what does the other 8.

These consist of metals like Silver, Zinc, Nickel and other alloys just as we explained earlier. The addition of these metals make the overall mixture a little harder and thus helps in making the jewellery more durable. This 22K gold is still not hard enough. And thus, generally studded jewellery is manufactured in 18K or lower, like 14K, 10K, 9K, etc. Based on the calculations already explained above,. Are we making sense yet? We certainly hope we are.

Carrying on, there are two things to be understood here — First, the hardness of the metal keeps increasing as the percentage of gold in the metal compositions goes down. It must also be understood that purity can sometimes be mentioned as a combination of 3 numerals. For example. This is what naturally happens, i.

But this natural phenomenon can be altered to achieve as desired using alloys that give the desired results with respect to colour. Now the stage is set to break some myths. This behavioural property of gold makes jewellery-making very interesting and opens up many possibilities. We at KuberBox try to extend these possibilities to our customers through this small customization window that you can find next to most of our products.

Just as we explained in our last section that any colour can be achieved for any purity, you can take it for granted that the purity of your white gold and rose gold jewellery is the same as what a genuine jeweller like KuberBox claims.

So go ahead and buy that shining white gold ring without any worry. Are other colours like blue, green, black and brown possible? Can such colours be achieved in gold? Such colours that are too apart from the natural colours of gold and alloys are achieved using a different mechanism. They are done via gold rhodium.

As the final step in the jewellery making process, the piece of gold jewellery is generally washed with chemicals and is then rhodium plating. Rhodium is a noble metal and is very rare. It is used as a final layer in jewellery making by applying a very thin coat of rhodium metal plating on silver and gold jewellery to render bright shine to the jewellery. Also, due to its hardness, it acts as a protective cover for your beautiful jewellery by protecting it against scratches. Depending on the nature of wear and tear that your jewellery is put to, the rhodium can start vanishing from the metal surface in months.

With clever use of rhodium plating, almost all the colours are attainable and thus in modern usage, it is indeed possible to have your gold jewellery made in most of the colours.

Dual tone gold jewellery is one of the prime examples of creativity. There are multiple ways of achieving dual tone colours. The two parts of the jewellery having different colours are manufactured separately and are later soldered together to form dual tone gold jewellery. This is the best practice for getting long-lasting results. The complete jewellery is made as a whole and then at the last stage, during rhodium plating, they are selectively plated to get the desired colours.

Liked the explanation? If there is any other topic that you want us to cover, mention it in the comments. Rose gold is a blend, or an alloy of pure 24 karat yellow gold, copper and silver. More the copper, the redder the gold becomes. Sourav is a young, passionate and hands-on entrepreneur. With a B. He had earlier founded a niche e-commerce startup Printbooth. With in-depth knowledge of technology-based design methodology, he consults family-owned traditional jewellery houses also.

Brilliant site thank you for the information I am happy to know more about gold as I will be buying a custom made 14K rose gold chain. Sorry for the delay in replying to your query. With a diamond pendant, you can go for either 18K or 22k or 14K. It is never the case that the purity of your chain must be same as that of the pendant.

Both are individual pieces of jewellery and both can have different individualistic characteristics. Miss Shaila …it has been already written in the above passage that purity falls as we add the another metal to it. Kindly advice properly. Thanks Ashutosh Kumar. However caution is to be taken when going for the 2nd option since you mentioned that it is non-hallmarked. Pave - Yellow Gold. The purity of gold is categorized using the karat system. The karat system measures the ratio of pure gold to other alloys in a piece of gold jewelry.

The greater the amount of pure gold in a gold ring or other piece of jewelry, the higher the purity level. Pure gold is 24 karat, meaning that 24 out of 24 parts of the metal are gold. These diamonds look identical in a ring. Gold purity content is categorized using the karat system. Depending on the ratio of pure gold to other alloys, the gold used in engagement rings and other jewelry is usually categorized as 10K, 14K, 18K, 22K and 24K.

Each type of gold has a different purity level. Instead, each purity level has its own range of advantages and disadvantages. This type of gold is referred to as 18 karat because 18 out of the 24 parts that make up the gold are pure gold.

In short, 18K gold looks fantastic, with the classic yellow appearance that most people associate with gold jewelry. This stunning hand-engraved solitaire engagement ring from Blue Nile is a great example of the warm tone of 18K gold. Other great 18K gold settings include this classic four prong solitaire ring from Blue Nile and this pave and sidestone halo engagement ring from Brian Gavin.

However, 18K gold also has several disadvantages. Compared to a 14K gold ring read our 14K vs. Compared to 18K gold, the main advantages of 14K gold are its durability and affordability. The only real downside of 14K gold is its potential to trigger skin irritation. Because 14K gold has a higher alloy content than 18K gold, it can occasionally result in itchy, uncomfortable skin if you have a copper, silver, nickel, zinc, or iron allergy.

Aesthetically, 10K gold has a pale appearance, with a significantly less rich yellow tone than 14K or 18K gold. The biggest advantages of 10K gold are its cost and durability. Since it has the lowest gold content of any type of gold, 10K gold is also highly durable. Shopping for an engagement ring? The type of gold used in an engagement ring can have a huge impact on its appearance, feel and durability.