What's the difference between the different types of gold?

In: Jewelry

Answer

The difference between the different types of gold is in the purity of the gold. The karat weight of gold is measured by a gold’s purity, with 24 karat gold being pure gold. Therefore, 22 karat gold would have a purity of 22/24 or 91.7 percent, 18 karat gold would have a purity of 18/24 or 75 percent, 14 karat gold would have a purity of 14/24 or 50 percent and 10 karat gold would have a purity of 10/24 or 41.6 percent.

As the purity of gold decreases, the alloy in the jewelry increases. Copper and silver are the most common alloys used when making gold jewelry and white gold is usually made with a nickel alloy.

The higher karat weight a gold piece of jewelry has, the more valuable that piece of jewelry will be.

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