Learn about Gold

Gold

Gold is the oldest precious metal known to humankind. Because of the metal's luster and remarkable properties, gold has been crafted into the world's most coveted and exquisite jewelry.

Gold is the world's most malleable (able to be pounded thin ) and ductile (able to be drawn to a fine wire) of all metals. In its pure state, gold is too soft to be worn as jewelry, so it is usually mixed with other metals, such as silver, copper, nickel and zinc, to make it harder. A mixture of metals is called an alloy. The quantity of gold in an alloy is expressed in karats (abbreviated as k or kt).

Gold’s softness and malleability makes it the perfect metal to create jewelry. It is also nontoxic, resists tarnishing, doesn’t corrode, is hypoallergenic, and retains its value making it very popular to wear. The natural color or shade of gold is yellow, which also happens to be the most commonly used shade of gold when making jewelry. Yellow gold is alloyed usually with copper or silver to add strength because of how soft pure gold really is. Another popular shade of gold is white gold made by mixing yellow gold with zinc, nickel, palladium, or copper.

Vermeil - Pronounced "vermay," vermeil is a French word describing sterling silver that has been electroplated with at least 100 millionths of an inch of karat gold.

How to Buy Gold

When buying gold always look for the karat mark to ensure that it is real. Pure gold is usually 24K and is much too soft to make jewelry so it is alloyed with other metals to increase its strength. For example, jewelry marked 18K gold means it is 75 percent pure gold. The designation placed on gold like the karat and the maker’s trademark is to ensure that it is real gold. In the Untied States the most common karat of gold is 14K. Nothing less than 10K gold can be legally sold in the United States. However, lower karatages are popular in other countries.

Care for Gold

Since gold is so durable and malleable it is ideal for settings containing diamonds, pearls, or gemstones. Always keep gold clean and never use harsh chemicals to clean it with. Gold can easily be scratched so keep it is a fabric lined case and away from other jewelry. If a piece of a setting breaks you can always take it to your jewelry professional and have it repaired.


The following chart shows the proportion of pure gold in the most common karat counts:

Gold Purity by Karat Count

Here are the most common colors of gold alloys and the metals used in making them:

Colors of Gold Alloys

Black Hills Gold

Black Hills Gold is an unusual style of gold jewelry manufactured in the Black Hills of South Dakota. It is produced from 10 karat yellow gold with 12 karat rose gold and green gold accents. Most Black Hills Gold jewelry is styled with a grape and grape-leaf motif.

JewelryByNet gold jewelry is stamped with its karat content (usually 10 karat, 14 karat or 18 karat), so you can be certain of the quality and value.

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