24 Karat Gold & 24K Gold Jewelry
I have been getting quite a lot of emails about 24K Solid Gold Jewelry. The most common questions are “I thought 24K gold was only a plating”, “24K Gold does not exist, then how can you sell jewelry?”
I should inform everyone out there that 24 Karat Gold exists in forms other than just Bullion. 24 Karat Gold is the purest form of Gold. It is otherwise also known/classified as 999.99 Pure Gold, 99.99% Pure Gold. When gold is mined out of the ground it is classified as 24 Karats. In this form it is available ONLY in yellow gold – it’s NATURAL form. When it is made in jewelry 95% of the time it is mixed with alloys such as zinc, nickel, silver, etc to reduce purity. Hence you get the different varieties of Gold. Please see the following most common purity classifications
- 24 Karat – Purest form of Gold – Natural Gold
- 22 Karat – 91.7% pure Gold; 8.3% Alloys
- 18 Karat – 75% Pure Gold; 25% Alloys
- 14 Karat – 58.5% Pure Gold; 41.5% Alloys
- 10 Karat – 41.7% Pure Gold; 58.3% Alloys
In the USA the least amount of Gold you can sell is 10 Karat. It is illegal to call anything less than that as Gold. In the UK it is 9 Karat Gold.
To answer questions on Gold Plating. Gold Plating is an electroplating process where ANY metal can be covered with a thin layer of Gold. The layer is usually 1/20th mm or 1/25th mm. You can plate any metal with any levels of gold – 24 Karat to 10 Karat. In such cases it is required by the FTC (Federal Law) to disclose the original metal along with the levels of gold plating either by hallmarks or stampings in the item.
It is extremely RARE to find 24 Karat Pure Gold Jewelry within the USA due to the lack of skilled labor. We manufacture our jewelry directly from our factories in India. In Far East Countries like China, Japan, Singapore, etc and South East Asian Countries like India, Pakistan, Turkey, etc. 24 Karat is worn extensively. Infact, the generally accepted minimum gold content in most of the Eastern World is 18 Karat Gold as compared to 9 Karat for UK and 10 Karat in the USA.
Hopefully, this can clarify some of the points and questions, the general consumer might have. Please vote if you find this helpful!!!
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