How to Check Gold Purity?

Gold is a precious commodity that one can never be too careful while purchasing or selling. So, checking the gold purity is an essential step. Because sometimes, jewellery items look like gold but are not gold. You can check at home with universally tried and tested methods. If you didn’t know, you measure gold’s purity in the carat system (karat in the American language). Here, carat measures the ratio of pure gold to other metallic alloys in a gold jewellery piece. The term ‘Carat’ should not be confused with the term ‘Carat’ used to weigh diamonds and other gemstones as a mass measuring unit. Gold varies in its purity, going from the purest 24k to the lowest values. Let’s see first the levels of gold purity and then how to determine them.

Levels of Gold Purity

Caratage tells of gold purity; the higher the caratage, the purer the gold. This purity scale measures the values from 0 to 24. When you get a piece of gold jewellery, it usually comes with a mark telling the gold’s purity level.  24-carat is the purest form of gold with no other metals. Similarly, lower caratages contain less gold; 12-carat gold has 12 parts pure gold and 12 other metals, mostly silver and copper. In its purest form, the real gold is a soft metal that can be easily bent. This is why you need to know what carat of gold you possess.

Did you know? The minimum gold purity for an item to be declared gold varies by country. For example, the minimum legal gold purity standard in the US is 10k. This value is 9k in countries like the UK and France.

Determining Gold Purity At Home

You will surely need to test your gold item if there is no stamp or hallmark. There are multiple tried and tested ways of determining gold purity at home.

·     A popular method is using the gold testing kit, containing a black touchstone and multiple Nitric Acid bottles in varying concentrations. Each bottle will have a carat number, such as 10k, 14k, etc. You rub the questionable gold item on the testing stone in the kit, which leaves a little streak on the stone. Drop a little acid on the streaked mark from one of the bottles.

If the mark changes its colour slightly, this gold item has the same carat as mentioned on the bottle with an accuracy of +/- 1 carat. But if the mark changes colour significantly or disappears gradually, then the item’s gold purity carat is less than the label on the bottle. No change in colour means that the gold item has a carat purity level higher than the number on the bottle label. Try the next bottle with a higher carat number. You can order this kit online and read the instructions carefully before applying the gold testing kit. Start from the lowest carat number bottle as a general rule of thumb.

·     You don’t need to always buy special equipment to test gold purity. A good magnet at home can do the work splendidly. It is a crude method that doesn’t specifically tell you the exact purity level of a gold item. Hold a magnet up to the gold item in question. A pure gold piece of jewellery won’t stick to the magnet. In lesser pure gold items, the metallic content gets attracted to the magnet.

So, the more an item attracts a magnet, the less the purity level is. You get a basic, general idea about your mysterious piece of gold. To determine the exact carat number, take your gold item to a reliable jeweller such as Al Romaizan Gold & Jewellery or buy an online gold testing kit to check at home.

Go to a Trusted Jeweller to Check Gold Purity

Jewellers use technology and their experience to test gold purity. So, rather than testing at home, the best thing is to take your gold item to a trusted jeweler to determine its precise purity. They mostly use electronic gold tester tools, which are highly accurate. They apply a special gel or liquid on the intended gold item to clean it first and then create a circuit between the tool and the gold item. An electric charge is applied to measure the resistance level. The output is put in a computerized system that tells the results. For not gold items, the tester states, “Not gold.” For positive results, the display indicates the gold item’s purity like 14k, 24k, etc.

Al Romaizan Gold & Jewellery are your trusted jewellers, providing their customers with premium-quality gold and other gems jewellery for over 6 decades. Their expert craftsmanship and commitment to providing the best gold items leave you in awe of their dedication and business quality. You can buy the purest gold items from them with your eyes closed or even take your gold items to them for gold purity testing.