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Its gold color and luster have enchanted
people for centuries. The desire of people to adorn themselves in
gold dates back to the time when civilization began in what is now
modern day Iran/Iraq. Many attribute gold for being the motivation
for opening up trade; man’s exploration of new lands and it has long
been associated with a form of currency or monetary value. From
gold’s earliest associations with gods, many of the metal’s
applications were religious ceremonial objects and adornments. Even
today, Egyptians refer to gold as the “child of the sun”.
Being extremely malleable allows pure gold to
be pounded flat into gold leaf as thin as 1/250,000 of an inch
thick. Gold in its purest form doesn’t corrode, however, it is soft
and scratches easily so therefore, molten gold is alloyed with other
metals, to change gold’s hardness, appearance or color.
Karat is a specific term used only with gold to
describe its amount of fineness (absences of impurities) and amount
of alloying metal (if present). A karat always refers to how many
parts of gold is present in the gold alloy therefore, and it is
expressed as a number, one karat represents 1/24th of purity. For
example, 14 karat gold (14K) is 14 parts gold and 10 parts alloy.
Although alloyed gold less valuable, it is more durable than pure
gold. Therefore, 14K is more affordable than 18K and more durable
than 18K, even though 18K is more valuable.
Karat (K) Percent of gold
10K 41.7%
12K 50.0%
14K 58.5%
18K 75%
22K 91.7%
24K 100%
The U.S. Gold and Silver Marking act allows for
a variance of 3/1000 or 0.003 the fineness, so 24K can actually be
99.7% gold.
The United States prohibits metals less than
10K to be marketed and sold as gold in the U.S. Internationally
these acceptable levels vary as Great Britain and Canada allow 9K to
be marketed and sold as gold.
A variety of metals are used in alloying gold
and in creating different colors of gold and give designs a host of
tones and hues to use in their designs. Nickel and zinc are commonly
used to alloy white gold and copper is added to gold to create pink
or red gold. Although available in a rainbow of colors: pink, green,
blue, gray, purple and even peach, the most popular color
complements many skin tones and is yellow gold. South Africa is the
worlds leading supplier of gold, followed by the United States and
Canada.
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