unit
of measure
conversions
equivalences
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italiano
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english
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gold
karat & color
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karat
defined
The purity
of gold is measured in karats and is now also measured in
terms of fineness (i.e. European Marking).
Pure gold is 24 karats or 1000 fineness. The process of
understanding what exactly a karat is becomes rather simple
when gold is thought of as an alloy (a mixture of various
metals) where the karats define the percent of pure gold
in the alloy. Therefore, you may determine the percentage
of pure gold in any gold piece by dividing the karat by
24
(e.g.
18K gold: 18/24=0.750=75% pure gold).
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karat
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Parts
Gold to Alloy
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Percent
Pure Gold
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Fineness
- European Marking
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10K
|
10/24
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41.67%
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417
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14K
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14/24
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58.33%
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583
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18K
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18/24
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75.00%
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750
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24K
|
24/24
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99.99%
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999
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Nothing
less than 10-karat gold can be legally marked or sold as
gold jewelry in the United States.
The legal requirements for minimum gold content vary widely
country-by-country
(e.g. 9 Karat is popular in Britain, while in France, Italy
and Switzerland,
18k is the lowest permissible standard to be called gold).
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The
colors of gold
Gold
alloys, aside from strengthening gold for jewelry, can also
affect its color.
The following table demonstrates the most common colors
of gold alloys and the metals used in making them:
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color
of gold
|
additional
metals used
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Yellow
gold YG or KY
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Copper,
Silver
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White gold WG or KW
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Nickel,
Zinc, Copper
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Green
gold
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Silver,
Zinc, Copper
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Rose
gold
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Copper,
Silver
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Vermeil
- Vermeil is Gold Plated Sterling Silver.
Gold Plated - Gold Plated (GP or KGP or RGP) items
have a very thin layer of gold electroplated to the surface
of the item. They have some other type of (base) metal underneath.
GP items are always less expensive than their Gold Filled
counterparts.
Gold Filled - Gold Filled (GF or KGF) is a layer of
10Kt or better gold mechanically bonded under heat & pressure
to one or more surfaces of supporting base metal, then rolled
or drawn to a given thickness. The amount of real gold used
is why GF items are always much more expensive than their
gold plated counterparts. |
  
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