Gold is one of the most versatile jewelry metals around. It never goes out of style, looks good on just about anyone and feels warm and rich to the wearer. Pure gold doesn’t react with other elements to create tarnish and while people who may have allergies when gold is combined with metals rarely have a problem with pure gold.
Gold can be manipulated in numerous ways as well, so if you are custom designing a piece with Joseph Schubach Jewelers, you choose a metal whose varieties are infinite.
Here are some pointers to remember about gold:
- 24K gold is pure gold.
- 18K gold contains 18 parts gold and 6 parts of one or more additional metals, making it 75% gold.
- 14K gold contains 14 parts gold and 10 parts of one or more additional metals, making it 58.3% gold.
- 12K gold contains 12 parts gold and 12 parts of one or more additional metals, making it 50% gold.
- 10K gold contains 10 parts gold and 14 parts of one or more additional metals, making it 41.7% gold. 10K gold is the minimum karat that can be called “gold” in the United States.
- Palladium or nickel can be added to create white gold. Adding copper produces a rose or pink tint, while silver gives gold a greenish cast.When metals are added to the gold the result is an alloy, a blended mixture. Solid gold is a term that can be used to describe an item that’s at least 10K (in the US) gold all the way through. Even though it’s a gold alloy–18K, 14K, or anything down to 10K–it can be called solid gold.
Gold, in the Raw