{"id":7181,"date":"2018-12-10T06:00:04","date_gmt":"2018-12-10T11:00:04","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.jewelry-secrets.com\/Blog\/?p=7181"},"modified":"2024-01-16T11:29:50","modified_gmt":"2024-01-16T16:29:50","slug":"what-is-the-content-of-14kt-gold","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.jewelry-secrets.com\/Blog\/what-is-the-content-of-14kt-gold\/","title":{"rendered":"WHAT IS THE CONTENT OF 14KT GOLD?"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"What<\/div>\n

Gold has been around forever.<\/p>\n

\nRemember the “golden calf<\/strong>” in Exodus<\/strong>?<\/p>\n

\nEven Noah had gold on the arc.<\/strong><\/p>\n

\nKings and royalty alike have used gold as adornment, sculptures and money<\/strong> for centuries.<\/p>\n

\nKing Tut<\/strong> was covered with it, buried with it, and even cursed <\/strong>with it!<\/p>\n

Gold is everywhere.<\/h2>\n

\nGold is used in coins (90% gold, 10% copper<\/strong>), dental work (bridges and fillings<\/strong>), embroidery (yarns and threads<\/strong>), gold flakes are even added into our food and drinks (yum<\/strong>). The Olympics give winners gold medals<\/strong> (no one knows better than our own Michael Phelps with 23 gold trophies<\/strong>).<\/p>\n

Gold has even traveled to the moon.<\/h2>\n

\n(Apollo II landing<\/strong>) Now that’s traveling in style.<\/p>\n

Why is gold such a hot commodity?<\/h2>\n

\nCould it be that gold is the only <\/strong>metal that won’t tarnish, corrode or rust? Could it be that gold is so malleable, a single ounce of gold could stretch for 5 miles?<\/strong> Or that gold can be made into paper thin sheets so tenuous that light can pass through it?<\/strong><\/p>\n

\nWhen you stop and think about it, gold really is the metal of all metals.<\/strong> Jewelers love it because it’s so easy to work with. People love it because of its richness, shine and luster.<\/p>\n

But gold is soft:<\/h2>\n

\nThe truth is, gold is not all that it’s cracked up to be. You see, gold is soft.<\/strong> Very soft. Too soft, in fact, to actually be used in jewelry. On the Mohs scale of hardness<\/a>, gold is only a 2-3 (diamond is a 10<\/strong>). If you set diamonds or gemstones into a pure gold mounting, you would end up losing your stones<\/strong>.<\/p>\n

So along come the alloys:<\/h2>\n

\nAlloys are other metals and minerals that are added to pure gold to make it durable enough to wear as jewelry.<\/strong><\/p>\n

\nSo what’s the most popular gold on the market?<\/strong><\/p>\n

What are gold’s alloy contents?<\/h2>\n

\nThe most popular gold on the market is 14kt gold (was there really any question?)<\/p>\n

\nWhat that means, is that 14 parts are gold<\/strong>, and 10 parts are other alloys<\/strong> mixed with it. 14kt gold is a good combination of both durability and luster.<\/strong><\/p>\n

Alloys change gold color:<\/h2>\n

\nThe amount and percentages of other alloys can do interesting things to gold. Pure gold (which is 24kt<\/strong>, is measured in troy standards from 1-24. One troy ounce equals 31.1033 grams), is bright yellow-orange in color<\/strong> (think gold bullions<\/strong>). It’s almost like the color of a beautiful golden sunset.<\/strong><\/p>\n

\nAdding alloys to gold can turn gold different colors<\/strong>. Colors like: yellow, red, rose (more copper added), pink, white (zinc added), gray, light green, green, deep green, blue-white, and even purple<\/strong>.<\/p>\n

Purple gold?<\/h2>\n

\nHow cool!<\/strong> Most people can see the presence of different gold colors in jewelry today. Rose gold looks like strawberries.<\/strong> Black Hills gold contains yellow gold, white, green, and pink gold. Two-tone varieties<\/strong> of gold are everywhere and people love it.<\/p>\n

\nNow in order for gold to be called gold in the U.S. the gold content must be at least 10 parts gold<\/strong> or 10kt gold. Anything less than that is not considered gold.<\/strong><\/p>\n

\nSo let’s look at the contents that make up gold and gold karats.<\/strong><\/p>\n

Gold contents:<\/h2>\n

\n<\/p>\n