Saturday, February 23, 2013

What Karat Rating Should You Get For Your Gold Jewelry?

By Adam Mason


Gold jewelry will come in many different qualities and these will depend upon the karat rating of each particular piece. So what exactly is the highest rating that one could possible find? And which of these ratings would be best suited to be worn constantly? The highest and purest rating possible would be 24K. This type of pure gold though is seldom, if ever, worn at all due to the fact that such gold would be too delicate and has a very low durability.

In certain parts of Europe and a couple of other nations, it might be possible to get 22k gold jewelry. These will be rare though. This is because the particular blend will consist of a large portion of pure mineral and can easily be broken. If they are ever worn at all, it would only be for very special instances. Some of the more prevalent ratings that can be found would be the 10k, 14k or 18k. In the US, the most common gold qualities would be 14k but it is likely that most jewelers would have those with 18k too.

10k is the lowest acceptable rating when it comes to these decorative accessories in the United States. Any piece that does not meet this minimum purity level then it can not be marketed as actual gold. A higher karat designation means less cleaning, but also less durability. That is why many prefer the 14k option. It is durable enough to wear every day and it resists damage well without losing any beauty or appeal.

You should take note of the fact that some nations will label the gold content of their products differently. For instance, in Europe, instead of the usual 10k to 24k karat ratings, they'll mark their jewelry with a certain percentage. A ring which has a quality of 18k will be labeled with a number of 750 instead, which means that the item is made out of 75% of pure gold. In certain cases, inscriptions of the creator or designer, as well as the nation it originated from will also be present.

Needless to say, the higher quality a particular gold item has, the higher the price it will fetch due to its increasing gold content. With the gold's tremendous value of more or less $1690 for every ounce, an intricately designed ring made of such pure gold at half its weight could cost an incredible $900 or so even if it doesn't have any other gemstones on it. You might also wish to examine each gold product that you want to buy meticulously to see if there are defects of any kind at all. Otherwise, the item could be worth a lot less at the slightest damage or dent.




About the Author:



No comments:

Post a Comment