Gold Jewelery: Tips To Decode Their Purity

2008-06-14 Word Count: 383 Category: Jewelry

Various metals are utilized in jewelry design. At first, the most ancient cultures wore copper ornaments. Later, bronze and brass gained popularity. When gold and silver were first mined, it became much more costly to ornament oneself with the lovely objects that resulted. Still, the people's love affair with jewelry went on growing. Along with gold and silver, many crave ornamental objects containing platinum, diamonds and pearls. And yet, gold remains the most sought-after substance for jewelry. The fascination with gold has never diminished throughout the ages.
Even so, gold is expensive to purchase. People who aren't rich usually can't afford to acquire many pieces that are made of pure gold alone. That's why other metals are often mixed in with the gold in jewelry, to stretch the gold further and reduce the price without affecting the visual impact of the ornaments.
The amount of additional gold in an alloy made of gold and a less costly metal is measured by a unit called carat. If you go to a jewelry shop, you can see a number and a sign for carat marked against each ornament. 24 carat depicts pure gold whereas 18 carat gold means that the ornament is made of an alloy that contains 75 percent gold and 25 percent of some other less precious metal.
It's hard to make ornaments out of pure gold, because gold is easily shaped but rather weak. Since it has low tensile strength, gold chips easily, and pure gold jewelry is susceptible to lots of nicks and cuts. On the market for buyers today, only biscuits or coins are available in pure 24 carat gold. There is, however, a wide selection of jewelry made from gold alloys.
In case your financial status does not allow you to buy 22 carat gold jewelry, please do not feel crestfallen. There are less costly options available which generate as much visual appeal as pure gold ornaments. 14k jewelry ornaments with embedded ruby, sapphire, emerald, and turquoise, known as semi precious jewelry, is one such option.
You can also get silver jewelry that is plated with gold. This looks just like gold jewelry. With high quality plating and polish, it can be very difficult to distinguish the difference with the naked eye.

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With the discovery of gold and silver, designing and wearing jewelry became an expensive affair. Gold continues to remain the sought after material for ornaments. Fascination for gold jewelery (www.luxurybasics.com/blog/category/gold-jewelry/) jewelry has only grown over the centuries. If you are not one of those people who can expend a fortune on gold jewelry, don't be dismayed.