Gold Jewelery: All That Glitters Is Not Pure Gold!
Various metals are utilized in jewelry design. At first, the most ancient cultures wore copper ornaments. Later, bronze and brass gained popularity. When gold and silver were first mined, it became much more costly to ornament oneself with the lovely objects that resulted. Still, the people's love affair with jewelry went on growing. Along with gold and silver, many crave ornamental objects containing platinum, diamonds and pearls. And yet, gold remains the most sought-after substance for jewelry. The fascination with gold has never diminished throughout the ages.
However, gold is a very costly metal. As such, people with limited income, typically belonging to the so-called "middle class" can not bear to buy jewelry made of pure gold. As such, some less costly material such as copper or silver is mixed with gold to reduce the cost of jewelry. This does not negatively impact the visual appeal of gold jewelry.
A carat is a unit that measures the percentage of gold in a mixture of gold and another metal. In jewelry stores, signs that label the number of carats in a piece of jewelry are common. A 24 carat piece is made of solid gold, but an 18 carat piece is comprised of 75 percent gold and 25 percent of another metal, which might cost a little less.
It is very difficult to make 24 carat gold ornaments because gold is a malleable but weak material. Because of its low tensile strength, small pieces can chip off from an ornament made out of pure gold. Only gold biscuits or coins made of almost pure gold are available for buyers. Other than these, you will have to choose from the alloyed gold jewelry.
In case your financial status does not allow you to buy 22 carat gold jewelry, please do not feel crestfallen. There are less costly options available which generate as much visual appeal as pure gold ornaments. 14k jewelry ornaments with embedded ruby, sapphire, emerald, and turquoise, known as semi precious jewelry, is one such option.
Another possible alternative is to purchase silver jeweler that has gold coating on it. Only a jeweler can claim to successfully distinguish gold plated silver jeweler from pure gold jewelry at all times. Yes, they look so similar to pure gold jewelry.
Despite centuries of competition from cheaper ornaments, gold jewelery remains the most coveted fashion accessory. Since pure gold is easily chipped, solid gold is usually mixed with other materials to obtain a tough alloy during jewelry making. The purity of gold in an alloy is measured in carats (K). The benchmark solid gold is 24k, so a 12k piece of jewelry would indicate an ornament containing only 50 percent gold. Slightly better than that, the affordable 14k jewelry is often mixed with sapphire, ruby and emerald stones to be sold as semi precious jewelry. Also popular is gold plated silver jewelry which appears to be made of solid gold.
Published June 4th, 2008
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