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Articles: Gold Alloy: Gold Type
24K Gold
The purest form of gold is rated at 24-karat and is too soft for use in making ornaments. Hence it is alloyed with other precious metals to strengthen it.
18K Gold
18K Gold is three quarters of pure gold or 18/24ths with 24 being the total. Therefore jewelry of this quality is marked "750" or "18k", meaning 75 percent of it is pure gold.
14K Gold
This is the most standard used in the US for crafting jewelry. It also referred to as 14/24ths or fourteen-karat gold. It has slightly more than one-half pure gold as its constituent. Jewelry of this standard is marked "585" or "14k". The European ratings use 58.5 percent gold to indicate this level of purity.
10K Gold
This is the lowest form of gold permissible to be stamped and sold in the US. These pieces are marked "10k" or "417" and the European ratings use 41.7 percent gold.
Stamping and Trademarks
One should look for trademarks besides the quality mark. A piece of jewelry is stamped with a quality mark. It is also mandatory that it be stamped with a hallmark or trademark as well. The country of origin/manufacture may also indicated. All these are done so that the customer knows and is assured that he buying genuine branded jewelry.
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