There are many different types of gold-each with a unique value. But not all real gold jewelry is created equal. Although this is the same spelling used to measure the weight of diamonds and gemstones (see our article about the 4Cs of diamonds), the two should not be confused. Outside of the United States, “karat” is usually spelled “carat”. This sounds simple enough, but it can get pretty confusing when different countries start to use different spellings. And therefore, it is 75% gold and 25% other metals. This means that 18K gold is 18 parts pure gold and 6 parts other metals. Pure gold is 24K gold, so one karat is one part of 24. The number of karats represents the ratio of gold to other metals in an alloy. It’s always a balance though, because higher karat gold is more valuable, less susceptible to tarnishing, more hypoallergenic and has a richer yellow hue. Therefore, the lower the karatage, the stronger it will be. Gold alloys are created by mixing other metals with pure gold to create a stronger version of itself. But an alloy with more gold isn’t necessarily better. This is simply because a higher karat means a greater percentage of gold.īecause of its scarcity and natural beauty, gold is a valuable resource. Most of us know that the higher the karat, the more expensive it will be. Although karat gold is alloyed with a different ratio of other metals, it is still considered solid gold because the alloy is consistent throughout, meaning there is no other base metal. Therefore most real gold jewelry is made from lower karat gold. However, 24 karat gold jewelry is not considered strong enough for everyday wear. Karat is the measure of the purity of gold, with pure gold being 24 karats. After digging deep into understanding gold purity, here we have the gold karat explained. What exactly is karat gold? You’ve hit the goldmine (pun intended). And so most solid gold jewelry is made from karat gold. But pure gold is usually considered too soft to work with. Wait, doesn’t all real gold have the same value? Pure gold does. It may be worth its weight in gold-but what kind of gold is the real question. However, when it comes to gold jewelry, the type of gold used has an enormous impact on the value of the piece. We all know that gold is highly valuable.

Gold element drawing