There is nothing that has been
more sought after by people over the centuries than gold. The very word grants a special
status to any word lucky enough to be connected to it. Golden Age, gold medal, gold
service, gold star, even the omnipresent gold card. From the ancient Egyptians, to the
Bible, and through the very history of civilization, the lust for this precious metal is
well documented. Empires have been built upon it; peoples and nations have been destroyed
for it. Gold is a rare material. All the gold that has ever been found totals about
100,000 tons.Pure gold is considered a "Noble" metal because it will not rust
or corrode like other metals. Gold will dissolve only in a chemical called aqua regia,
which is a mixture of nitric and hydrochloric acids, hot chlorine bleach, mercury, hot
cyanide solution, and a mixture of selenic acid in water.
Gold is a very workable metal. One ounce of gold can be formed into a wire thread 50
miles long (very thin thread). Small pieces of gold can be pounded so that they will fuse
together without the addition of heat. Few jewelry items are made of pure gold, which is
24 karat. Some of my customers from Thailand, Vietnam and the Philippines have 24-karat
gold jewelry, but such pieces are not set with stones. Pure gold is too soft, too heavy
and too expensive to make jewelry that is durable and affordable. Gold in jewelry is
alloyed with other metals and is referred to as karat gold or solid gold. The alloy must
be the same throughout the piece, not layered or plated. Karat refers to the amount of
alloy mixed with the pure gold. Be sure not to confuse karat with carat, which is a
measure of weight.
14kt means the item is 14 parts pure gold and 10 parts alloy. In Europe the piece would
be listed by gold portions per thousand 585. 18kt means the pure gold makes up 18/24 of
the piece. In Europe, that piece would be marked 750. 10kt is 10/24 pure gold or 416 parts
per thousand. In the US and most of the world karat gold cannot be less than 10 karat.
Alloys are often used to give the karat gold color. Yellow gold is alloyed with copper,
silver, and in gold 14kt and lower, zinc. White gold is alloyed with nickel or palladium,
zinc and copper. Rose or Pink gold is alloyed with copper. Green gold is alloyed with
mostly silver, and a bit of zinc.
Today when going to purchase a gold chain you will
be confronted with ads claiming to save you anywhere from 30% to 80% off the "REGULAR
PRICE" especially if you buy now. Often such ads are smoke screens and few of the
chains have ever been sold at the "REGULAR PRICE". Don't fall for such tactics.
We jewelers buy our gold chains by weight, most often measured in grams. The price per
gram reflects the karatage of the gold as well as the sophistication of the chain's
design. A diamond cut rope chain or herringbone are relatively simple designs. Chains with
a more complicated linkage or surface finish are more expensive per gram. When comparing
prices make sure that you are comparing chains that are alike.
You are ready to shop. When you go to a jewelry store ask what the weight of the chain
is. If the jeweler claims that he or she can't tell you, you are in the wrong store. Most
jewelers will tell you the weight or weigh the chain for you. Simply divide the price by
the gram weight.
