Get Cash For Your Gold Jewelry - What Karat Is Your Gold Jewelry?

If you have gold jewelry, you are likely aware that the value of that gold depends on its karats. In the United States, most gold is either 10K or 14K. What does that mean?

The terms "karat" (in the United States and Germany) or "carat" are used to describe the purity of gold jewelry. The word originated from ancient times when carob seeds were used in the Mediterranean and Middle East to measure the weight of gold. The term "carat" is still used in the US to measure the weight of gemstones.

By law, gold jewelry is stamped with record of the piece's gold purity (what is included on that stamp depends on the country of origin). In its purest state, gold is the softest, most malleable metal known to be in existence. Because of this, pure gold is not ideal for most jewelry that requires a level of strength and structure.

Therefore, in most cases jewelry is combined with an alloy to strengthen it for practical use in jewelry. Gold is most often combined with copper, silver or zinc to make it stronger and modify the metal's color. The karat measures the percentage of pure gold to its alloy.

The purest gold available is 24K, or 99.99% purity. The "fineness" of pure gold is 1,000. All other karat levels are compared to 24K to determine their gold fineness and purity. For example, 22K gold would be considered 22 parts gold to two parts alloy, or 916.7 fineness and 91.67% pure. Following is a chart showing the fineness and percentage of gold for each of the most commonly found karat levels:

Karats---Fineness---Percentage Gold
24--------1000.00----100.00
22--------916.70------91.67
18--------750.00------75.00
14--------583.30------58.30
10--------416.70------41.67
9----------375.00------37.50

Not All Stamps are Correct
Although jewelry manufacturers are required to stamp the number of karats to their merchandise, not all stamps are accurate. Some unscrupulous dealers who create and sell gold jewelry have been known to misrepresent gold purity in order to make customers believe they are getting a better deal. Cash4 Gold uses state-of-the art testing methods to verify gold purity including an x-ray fluorescence scan, electronic tester, and the commonly used acid/scratch test.