Gold

Gold

Gold is a highly sought-after precious metal that for many centuries has been used as money, a store of value and in jewelry. The metal occurs as nuggets or grains in rocks and in alluvial deposits and is one of the coinage metals. It is a soft, shiny, yellow, dense, malleable, and ductile (trivalent and univalent) transition metal.

Gold is a chemical element in the periodic table with the symbol Au (from the Latin aurum) and atomic number 79. The adjective auric refers to something made of gold. Gold does not react with most chemicals but is attacked by chlorine, fluorine, aqua regia and cyanide. Gold dissolves in mercury. In particular, gold is insoluble in nitric acid, which will dissolve most other metals. Nitric acid has long been used to confirm the presence of gold in items.

White gold (an alloy of gold with platinum, palladium, nickel, and/or zinc) serves as a substitute for platinum.

Green gold (a gold/silver alloy) is used in specialized jewelry while gold alloys with copper (reddish color) are more widely used for that purpose (rose gold).

Yellow Gold

Yellow Gold is the more common and truer color of gold.

White Gold

White gold is an alloy of gold and at least one white metal, such as alloy silver, platinum, palladium, nickel, and/or zinc, and often serves as an attractive substitute for platinum.
Like yellow gold, white gold is measured in carats. Its properties vary depending on the metals and proportions used. As a result, white gold alloys can be used for different purposes; while a nickel alloy is hard, strong and therefore good for rings and pins, white gold-palladium alloys are soft, pliable and great for white gold gemstone settings.

LUSTRE

White gold rings are often coated with rhodium. Rhodium is similar to platinum and shares many of its properties, including its white color. Because the natural color of white gold is light grey, rhodium plating makes white gold whiter. Plating increases luster in greyer jewelry, and prevents oxidation. Since rhodium eventually wears away, white gold should be re-plated with rhodium every 12 to 18 months. However, palladium and silver alloys are of a higher quality than nickel and are sometimes not coated with rhodium.

Rose Gold (Russian Gold)

Rose gold is a gold and copper alloy widely used for specialized jewelry due to its reddish color. It is also known as pink gold and red gold. Because it was popular in Russia at the beginning of the nineteenth century it is also known as Russian gold, although this term has become somewhat rare.

Since it is an alloy, there is no such thing as "pure rose gold"; pure gold is yellow and pure copper is reddish.

Although the names are often used interchangeably, the difference between red, rose, and pink gold is the copper content: The higher the copper content, the stronger the red coloration. A common alloy for rose gold is three-quarters gold and one-quarter copper.

Rose gold made of 25% copper would be classified as 18 karat gold. Typically about 4% silver is added to the 75% gold and 21% copper to give a rose color.

14 karat red gold is often found in the Middle East and contains 41.67% copper.

Two Toned Gold

Two-Toned Gold Jewelry contains two colors of gold, usually white and yellow. It is also possible to see Rose and Yellow, and Rose and White gold jewelry as well and these can be referred to as Two Tone as well.

Tricolor Gold

Tricolor gold jewelry contains elements of yellow, white and rose gold.

Meanings of Carat or Karat:

In the gem & metals business:

- Carat (mass) is a unit of mass for gems. It is equal to 0.2 gram. In the United States, carat almost exclusively means the unit of mass.

- Karat (purity) is a unit of purity for gold. In the United States, karat almost exclusively means the unit of purity. 24k is pure gold, 18k is 18 parts gold and 6 parts other metals (usually silver or copper), and 14k is 14 parts gold to 10 parts other metals. 10k is the minimum that can be sold as gold in the U.S

example: 14 Karat Gold = 14/24 = 58.33% gold. The balance is typically a mixture of silver and copper.

Note: Jewelry advertised as being 14 Karat Gold MUST be a MINUMUM of 58.33% Gold or it is NOT 14 Karat Gold.