Precious Metals

GOLD...

...the world's most prized metal, gold has graced royalty and decorated the best athletes. Gold is workable due to its malleability, and beautiful due to its colour and lustre.

Pure 24K gold is considered to be too soft for jewellery, however the Chinese culture prefers gold in its pure form.

Karatage is the measure of the fineness of gold.

Pure gold is alloyed, or mixed with other metals for strength, wearability, and/or colour.

Fine Gold Content	North American Marking	European Marking	Country
100%	24K	999	China
91.6%	22K	916	India
87.5%	21K	875	Middle East
75.0%	18K	750	Europe
58.3%	14K	585	Canada, U.S.
41.6%	10K	416	Canada, U.S.
37.5%	9K	375	U.K.

The Colours of Gold:
How alloys affect colour

Colour	Elements
Yellow Gold	= Gold, Copper, Silver
White Gold	= Gold, Nickel, Zinc, Copper
Green Gold	= Gold, Silver, Copper, Zinc
Pink Gold	= Gold, Copper

Reactions to Gold:

Some people may experience reactions to nickel or any of the other alloys in karat gold. This problem may be alleviated by choosing jewellery with a higher gold karatage (the greater the percentage of pure gold the less percentage of alloys used).

Care & Cleaning of Gold:

When storing gold jewellery for safekeeping, separate the items to prevent any chance of scratching.

To clean jewellery use a cleaning solution, or ultrasonic machine. Avoid soap and soapy water since it can create a film. Dry and polish with a soft cloth.

None Karat Gold
Gold Filled or G.F.	= a layer of 10K, 12K or 14K mechanically bonded to base metal. Usually 1/20th must be gold of the total metal weight. (1/20 12K G.F.)
Rolled Gold or RGP	= same as Gold Filled but with less gold content (1/40 12K RGP)
Gold Electroplating	= a thin coating of gold on a metal by using electricity and chemicals.
Vermeil	= Gold electroplating over a sterling silver base.

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