Researching Gold Jewelry

Familiarize yourself with purity standards. The value of gold is determined by its purity, also known as ‘fineness.' This is measured in karats. The karat measurement divides purity into 24ths. For example, 24 karat gold is 100 percent pure and 12 karat gold is 50 percent pure.

Determine the right purity for you. While gold is generally more valuable at higher levels of purity, you or the person you are purchasing the jewelry for may prefer less pure gold for practical reasons. 24 karat gold is very soft and highly prone to scratching and damage ofcourse, pure gold is also vastly more expensive than alloyed gold. If you plan on wearing the jewelry on a daily basis, you will probably want it to be no more than 18 karats, i.e. 75 percent pure, to avoid damage.You should also consider how often your jewelry will come into contact with hard surfaces on a regular basis. For example, highly pure gold rings and bracelets are likely to experience damage if worn daily.Consider plated or vermeil gold. Plated and vermeil describe methods of dipping other metals into molten gold to create a coating. This jewelry will be cheaper than the purer varieties but also more prone to cracking and wear. Plating involves dipping a base metal like steel or brass into an electroplating solution with a lump of pure gold. An electric current is applied and the gold will attach itself in a thin layer around the metal. The plating is usually very thin and prone to wear.Vermeil involves the same plating process but specifically refers to jewelry that has a base material of sterling silver. Sterling silvery is often preferred by people that have allergies to precious medals. The plating is usually very thin and prone to wear. Pick your color. Gold typically comes in yellow, pink, and white. There is also a rarer green variety. The pink, white, and green varieties are created by mixing gold with other metals. The non-yellow varieties are usually no more than 18 karats. Yellow gold represents the color of the natural color of the mineral but that doesn’t mean that all yellow gold jewelry is pure. Don’t assume that yellow gold is pure and always check the markings.White gold is created by mixing in palladium or nickel. It resembles silver but has a slightly brighter hue.Pink or rose gold is created by mixing in copper.Green gold is created by mixing in silver. Because of the value of both silver and gold, green gold is usually more expensive than other varieties.