Gold is a precious metal that has been valued by people since ancient times. People use gold for coins, jewelry, ornaments, and many industrial purposes. Until recently, gold reserves formed the basis of world monetary systems.
Gold is a very soft metal when it is pure (24 Kt. is pure gold). Gold is the most malleable (hammerable) and ductile(able to be made into wire) metal. Gold is usually alloyed (mixed with other metals, often silver and copper) to make it less expensive and harder. The scientific abbreviation of gold is Au.
The purity of gold jewelry is measured in karats. Some countries hallmark gold with a three-digit number that indicates the parts per thousand of gold. In this system, "750" means 750/1000 gold (equal to 18K); "500" means 500/1000 gold (equal to 12K).
Karat |
Percent Gold |
24 Kt. |
100% Gold |
18 Kt. |
75% Gold |
14 Kt. |
58.3% Gold |
10 Kt. |
41.7% |
Alloyed gold comes in many colors:
Colored Gold |
Alloy Metal(s) Added to the Gold |
Yellow Gold |
50% silver and 50% copper |
White Gold |
Nickel, zinc, copper, tin and manganese |
Pink (rose) Gold |
90% copper and 10% silver |
Green Gold |
High proportion of silver or cadmium |
Blue Gold |
Some iron |
Grey Gold |
15-20% iron |
GOLD FILLED
Gold filled (abbreviated G.F. or written as "doublé d'or") jewelry is made of a thin outer layer of gold atop a base metal. For example, jewelry marked 1/20 G.F. 12 Kt. is at least 1/20th gold and is layered with 12 karat gold. To be classified as gold-filled, a piece must be at least 1/20 gold by weight.
GOLD PLATED
Gold-plated metal has a very thin layer of gold on the surface, usually applied by the process of electroplating. Pieces that are gold plated are often marked G.E.P., gold electroplate, gold plated, or electro-plaqué d'or.
ELECTROPLATE
Electroplating (also called Galvanotechnics after its inventor, Luigi Galvani) is a process in which one metal is coated with another metal using electricity. In jewelry, inexpensive metals are frequently electroplated with more expensive metals, like gold (gold plating), copper (electrocoppering), rhodium (rhodanizing), chromium (chromium plating), or silver (silver plating). The thickness of the metal coat varies. Electrogilded coating is the thinnest (less than 0.000007 inches thick); gold-cased metals have a coating thicker that 0.000007 inches.
VERMEIL
Vermeil is gold-plated silver. Less occasionally, gold-plated bronze is referred to as vermeil.
WHITE GOLD
White gold is gold that has been alloyed with a mix of nickel, zinc, copper, tin, and manganese.
YELLOW GOLD
Yellow gold is gold that has been alloyed with a mix of 50% copper and 50% silver.
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