Have you ever been shopping for a new gold piece and came across descriptions like, 14-karat gold, 18-karat gold, 24-karat gold, white, yellow, red, or rose?
This many numbers and colors can be a bit overwhelming and not make much sense unless you are informed on what it means, which a lot of times is the first step in falling in love with your perfect piece!
To begin...
Gold is a chemical element and precious metal, the only yellow metal.
Gold has been in its pure form and purest color is very valuable and mined throughout the world.
Karats
To find the percentage of gold in an object when the purity is stated in karats, multiply the number of karats by 100 and divide by 24.
With this information, we can calculate that:
- 24k gold: 100% pure gold
- 18k gold: 75% pure gold
- 14k gold: 58.33% pure gold
- 10k gold: 41.67% pure gold
- 9k gold: 37.5% pure gold
Colors
Now that we know about the karats of gold, what about the variety of colors gold is available in?
Pure gold in its natural state is actually a reddish-yellow color.
To change the color of gold, alloys are added. Alloys can include nickel, zinc, silver and copper.
What combinations of alloys create the different colors of gold?
- White gold: An alloy of gold and a white metal
- Yellow gold: An alloy of gold, copper, and silver
- Red gold: Gold and copper
- Rose gold: Gold, copper, and silver
Find the perfect piece of jewelry for you or someone special at Bernard’s Jewelers by visiting us at 23999 US Hwy. 80, Statesboro or call us at 912-764-5379.