In the Karat System, pure elemental gold is referred to as 24K gold. In the United States, and countries which export heavily to the United States, the Karat system is used. There are two common systems (known as “Fineness Marking”) for indicating gold content in jewelry – the Karat System and Numeric System. 99.9% of the gold jewelry on the market today is made from a gold alloy of some type.īecause gold jewelry is usually sold in alloy form, it is important to know how much pure gold it contains – and thus its inherent value. Similarly, gold alloys are made by melting down pure gold and combining it with another metal (usually silver, copper or tin). Brass is made by melting down copper and zinc and “stirring” them together. For example – brass is an alloy of copper and zinc.
An alloy is a combination of any two metals. Rather, most jewelry is made from a “gold alloy”. For example, a pure gold ring would constantly lose its shape and any stones set in it would be at risk of coming loose. Pure gold is so soft, however, that it is rarely ever used to make jewelry because it cannot hold up to daily use. When people talk about the “Price of Gold” or the “Spot Gold Price” or “Gold Bullion” – they are talking about pure elemental gold. In its natural form, gold is orangish-yellow in color (sometimes called “buttery” yellow), has a bright shine (high luster), is very soft (it scratches easily) and is very malleable (it can be hammered and stretched easily with iron tools).Įxample of Elemental Gold In Its Natural “Nugget Form” Other examples of elemental metals include copper (made of nothing but copper atoms) iron (made of nothing but iron atoms) and aluminum (made of nothing but aluminum atoms). This means that pure gold is made up of nothing but gold atoms. In order to get a real understanding of all these terms, you have to first understand some basics about gold itself. When shopping for vintage and antique jewelry, whether on eBay or in your local antique mall, it’s important to know the difference between these common phrases. If you’re the type of person who appreciates vintage and antique jewelry, you’ve probably come across jewelry that’s described as “Gold”, “Gold Filled” “Gold Plated” or one of a dozen other phrases with the word Gold in it.
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