Gold how to understand carats
Thanks to its chemical properties, gold resists oxidation and the corrosive action of atmospheric agents, maintaining its shine almost unchanged over time. Discover how to understand the carats of gold.
It is a metal that cannot be created, but only extracted from a few natural deposits through a very costly and complex process. Through further processing, raw gold becomes pure gold, which however does not yet have the proper consistency to be used in the making of jewellery.
Alloys are metals that are combined with gold in a certain percentage. We deliberately used the plural term because depending on the metals used, a different result is obtained both in terms of consistency and colour. You can therefore understand well that the value of the jewellery is determined by the amount of pure gold present inside it. In technical jargon, this is called the fineness and is indicated as a percentage value expressed in thousandths (‰), although more commonly it is referred to as carats (kt).
What is the fineness of gold?
The fineness of gold indicates the amount of pure gold present in each piece of jewellery. To help you understand better, let's take a practical example. Usually, the jewellery we know is made of 18 kt gold, which corresponds to a fineness of 750‰: this means that the alloy they are made of consists of 750 parts of pure gold and 250 parts of other metals, among which the most commonly used are silver, copper, zinc, and palladium.
Depending on the percentage in which these metals are added, the colours assumed by these alloys also change. For example, in rose gold alloy, unlike yellow gold, there is a higher copper content which increases even more when we talk about red gold. As for white gold, which also contains rhodium that gives it its characteristic shine, it is worth making a clarification.
Nickel-free white gold
At the time of its first use, shortly after the end of the First World War, the alloy was made by adding a significant percentage of nickel since this metal had the advantage of keeping the white colour of gold almost unchanged over time; however, as medical knowledge progressed, it was shown that a high amount of nickel led to the progressive development of allergies. For this reason, a regulation was drawn up, which came into force on 31 March 2013, to set a maximum allowed limit that is tolerable by the body. Clearly, for those already allergic to nickel, no limit applies; they can only wear “nickel-free” items.
Gold fineness around the world
Returning to the fineness most commonly used in Italian-made jewellery, we basically talk about 750‰ gold (18 kt), although to a much lesser extent, it is possible to find pieces in 375‰ gold (9 kt). However, just moving outside the Bel Paese, different situations arise. For example, for our German and English cousins, as well as for Americans, it is not uncommon to produce jewellery with lower gold fineness such as 583‰ (14 kt) or 417‰ (10 kt); conversely, jewellery made in Eastern countries, especially Arab ones, has higher fineness such as 917‰ (22 kt): creations made with these alloys are certainly more precious but equally fragile.
Where to read the carats of gold
By law, the fineness of gold must always be present on the jewellery and it is possible to check it. You just need a magnifying glass to look for the hallmark: it is a lozenge inside which the percentage of pure gold in thousandths is reported (for example 750 if it is 18 kt gold). Right next to it, there must be a polygon inside which you will recognize a five-pointed star followed by an alphanumeric code: this is the identification mark indicating the origin of the jewellery.
However, it is always better to rely on an expert appraiser (discover our experts) if you want to have the certainty of a qualified and competent estimate and protect yourself from possible counterfeits.
Come visit us in our shop for a detailed appraisal of your gold.
