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14k Gold |
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What is gold?With other numbers of metals or alloys such as copper or iron pyrite, copying gold color is easy. They will look just as the gold as the real 14k gold. So why pick 14k gold? The answer is easy. Gold does not change in color, rust or corrode or fade. Gold survives time. Also gold can be shaped to any size or shapes. However with gold’s flexibility has a drawback.
Due to its flexible nature, gold’s strength in minerals or harness
is near the bottom of the chart. Because of these weaknesses, gold is
mixed with one or more additional metals to make it strong. We call this
alloy; they are usually copper, silver, nickel. These alloys not only
strengthen the gold, but determine the color of the gold. For example,
yellow gold will contain copper, and white gold will have nickel, zinc
and copper is mixed in. With these concepts, gold can come in many color
such as pink gold or also know as rose gold, or purple gold etc. |
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What does karat means in 14k?In mineral community, precious metals measured in ounces. But this ounce system is not the system of 16 ounces to a pound which we are familiar with. Gold is instead measure what ancient troy standard. This standard is also used in pharmacists and medical profession today. Here is an example of weight system.
Karat in most in English speaking countries spells in “carat” but in U.S. carat is used to measure gem stone’s weight such as 1 carat diamond. The word carat is from ancient time when it was used from carob plant which was used to measure weight of gemstones. Carob plant’s seed was used for this process. One carob seed weighted about 200 milligrams. Now going back to gold, purity of gold is measure from 1 to 24. 24 karat (24K) is purest form of the metal. So when you hear 18k gold, it means 18/24 karat which is 75% of gold and 25% alloy. More alloy, or lower karat in gold, gold becomes much more strong. Gold Marks
Minimum Gold ContentTo be called gold, there are minimum gold content. It varies by where you are, but in United States, item must be at least 10 K and in England and Canada 9 K and in Italy and France 18 K Many Colors of Gold
** Some people are allergic to nickel and should not whear white gold which contains Nickel. Some manufacturers use Palladium instead of Nickel. White gold which contains Palladium will be more expensive than yellow gold or white gold but it will be less expensive than Platinum. What causes skin discoloration with some gold jewelry?Pure gold does not change in color or tarnish and it won’t discolor the skin. But when alloy is used to mix with gold, the gold can change and oxidize. Also human’s fat or acids in perspiration can start this change in gold. It usually gets worse in warm and damp areas where lots of salt is in the air. Sometimes, woman’s makeup can start the problem. How to solve discoloration in gold?1. Make a habit of removing jewelry often and cleaning
the skin and jewelry. |
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What is gold coatings?Jewelry or item less than solid 14k is considered as costume jewelry. Anything less than 10k is definitely is costume jewelry. Also you may run into term such as gold plated or vermeil jewelry. Vermeil jewelry comes into two part. When it’s vintage or antique jewelry and if its from abroad, vermeil means gold coated on bronze, brass, copper or other cheaper material. Here is the simple figure for you to understand difference between types of gold.
When gold filled is concerned, it means 1/20th of the total weight of the piece or more. So in a sense, gold filled is better than gold plated jewelry. Gold plated jewelry is consisted of 100 millionth of an inch is chemically electronically plated. If your jewelry is “gold-flashed” or “gold-washed” means it’s plating is thinner than 7 millionths of an inch.
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SilverAnything other than gold such as silver and platinum are also alternatives to gold. Silver also has many qualities as gold. Such as lovely color and great flexibility, like gold silver have problems. Pure silver is too soft like pure gold, and to prevent that copper is added to add strength. When you hear “sterling silver”, sterling
is one of the most familiar silver alloys. Sterling consists of 925 parts
pure silver and 75 parts copper. Term karat does not apply to silver.
Silver is simple in a sense that silver is either sterling or not. Due
to this, in silver, Federal Trade Commission prohibits the term use “sterling”
or “coin silver” in reference to a plated article. Because
when they say “silver plated” the plating is pure silver not
like other plating metal. Problem of silverOne major draw back of silver jewelry is that it is prong to tarnish. Silver will almost turn deepening to brown and to black. This process is quicken by today’s inner city where there is lots of air pollutions. Silver is also sensitive to alkali compounds. Which means things like sea air can tarnish the silver.
SolutionBest solution for tarnished silver is to buy silver cleaning chemical. And use soft cloth and apply these chemicals to clean your jewelry. Also toothpaste does a job too. |
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Other Useful Informations |
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