There is so much more to gold than just being a precious metal. It is used to explain timeless things and is treated as a symbol of luxury. However, did you know that pure gold is not what you think it is?

It is usually combined with other metals like silver, nickel copper, etc. The types that are used are 24k/22k/18k/10k/14k Gold Jewelry. The most common types are the 10k/14k Gold Jewelry. 

The karat amount is not only responsible for gold's status and price but the color too. Determining the best karat gold for you depends on much more than gold purity and its price. You must ponder over the type of jewelry, how frequently you will wear it, the color amongst other factors.

Difference between Solid Gold and Pure Gold

The term solid gold refers to any gold that is 10k purity or more than that. You shouldn’t confuse it with ‘pure gold’. Pure gold or 24k gold is seldom used in creating fine jewelry due to the soft and weak gold in its unadulterated state. That’s why every solid gold option at Global Watches10 is a mix between pure gold and various alloy metals that adds to the strength and sturdiness.

You must be thinking that how are different K gold different from each other like 24k/22k/18k/10k/14k. We are here to explain all this individually to you.

• 24K Gold

It is also called ‘The Gold Standard’ 24K which is 100% pure gold. If you are one of those who think that this makes 24K the best gold to buy then let us tell you, that isn't essentially the case. This karat amount is the 100% gold which makes it the most admired and expensive metal. Although, any jeweler will tell you that it's very rare to find jewelry that is made out of 24K. This is because of the fact that pure gold is very soft and have a tendency to scratch and bend easily. It makes it unfeasible for daily wear in most of the cases. There are some gold jewelry makers who have become skilled at practices to make 24K gold stiff. However, it is extremely labour intensive and rare to find as compared to the other gold alloys. 

• 22K Gold

22K is 91.68% pure gold and the remaining 8% comprises of a blend of other alloys too. The accumulation of these other metals makes the gold sturdy enough to be used in creation of the jewelry. Pure gold has the noticeable bright golden yellow color that pops in your head when you hear the word ‘gold’. This coloring is one of the things that set 24K and 22K apart from the easier coloring of smaller karats.

• 18K Gold

18K gold is 75% gold and is the most old-fashioned mix of gold and other alloys. Beautiful jewelry is made out of it apart from 10k/14k Gold Jewelry. This karat amount is less expensive as compared to 24K and 22K. However, it is commonly used in making fine jewelry. Its coloring is softer yellow than higher karats. The deep golden tone is looked-for in contrast to the 14K and 10K coloring. You can tell when a piece is made of 18K gold by the "18K, 18Kt, 18k, 750, or 0.75" stamp that represents the 75% gold side in the jewelry.

• 14K Gold

The most common type of gold jewelry in the U.S. is 14K. It was created to make a gold piece more affordable by having less gold. This karat amount contains 58.5% gold. Its forte is an excellent fit for rings and trinkets to ornaments and earrings as it is parallel to 18K. 14K was selected because it is just over half gold. In addition to less gold and a smaller price, 14K inclines to have less of a strong yellow color as compared to the 18K or higher.

• 12K and 10K Gold

Lower karat amounts like 12K which is half gold and 10K (41.9%) create jewelry that is someplace between the fine jewelry and costume jewelry. That is why most of the fine jewelers avoid carrying 12K or 10K. It is durable for sure but it has less characteristic value since is 50% gold or less than that. If you incline to work with your hands or have an active lifestyle then you could consider this karat amount for a casual piece of jewelry.

10K gold is the minimum pure, least expensive and the sturdiest form of gold used in the jewelry.

Even though it’s extensively used in earrings and affordable jewelry, 10K gold isn’t a famous metal for engagement rings. A number of high-end and extravagant jewelry retailers don’t even offer 10K gold pieces due to its moderately low gold content.

If we talk about the aesthetics, 10K gold has a pale appearance with an expressively less rich yellow tone than 14K or 18K gold. 

The biggest benefits of 10K gold are its price and toughness. 10K gold is the most inexpensive type of gold that is available in the US that makes it a good option if you’re shopping for a ring or something on a close-fitting budget.

Since it has the lowermost gold content of any type of gold, 10K gold is also vastly durable. It’s very tough to scratch, rub or curve the jewelry made from 10K gold. It makes it worth considering if you work in a situation with hard surfaces that could scrape or harm your jewelry.

• Different shades of Golden!

It’s a universally known fact that gold is yellow in color. If we go by common sense then as the % of pure gold goes down in the composition and more of non-yellow alloy metals are presented, the color composition also start becoming lesser and lesser yellow. 

This is what logically happens, i.e. 22K gold is perky golden, and 18K is on a dull side while 14K borders a red/pinkish tone. However, this usual situation can be changed to attain as we want by using alloys that give the desired results in shades of golden!

• Dual tone Gold!

Dual tone gold jewelry is a result of great creativity. There are numerous ways of attaining dual tone 10k/14k Gold Jewelry. Two parts of the jewelry having different colors are made distinctly and are later joined together to form dual tone gold jewelry. 

Another way is that the entire jewelry is made as a whole and then during the last stage at rhodium plating, they are carefully plated to get the preferred colors.

• Purity level of White Gold and Rose Gold

You can take it as established that the purity of your white gold and rose gold jewelry is the same. If it has any other color than golden yellow then it doesn’t essentially mean that it is less pure. 

• Gold and colors

If there is any color that is different from the natural colors of gold and alloys are accomplished using a different mechanism then they are done through gold rhodium. As the final step in the jewelry making process, the piece of gold jewelry is usually splashed with chemicals and is then taken for rhodium plating. 

Rhodium is a noble metal and is extremely rare. It is used as a final glaze in jewelry making by smearing a very thin coat of rhodium metal plating on silver and gold jewelry to condense the bright shine of the jewelry. Because of its hardness, it acts as a defensive cover for your jewelry by defending it against the scrapes. You should know that this coating doesn’t last forever. Depending on the usage of the jewelry, the rhodium can start disappearing from the metal surface in about 1 year or so. 

• Gold jewelry and pure gold

Contrary to the widespread belief, when you but a gold engagement ring or other type of jewelry then the metal used for the jewelry isn’t 100% gold.

Pure gold or 24K gold is gold that hasn’t been mixed with any other supporting metal. 24K gold isn’t used for jewelry because:

• First of all, it’s tremendously soft because of which it bends and warps easily. This makes it a poor metal for jewelry that needs to keep its shape intact. Pure gold also scrapes easily. It means that it doesn’t take long for pure gold jewelry to become abraded and unpleasant.
• The color of pure gold is much brighter and more orange than what most people subordinate with the gold used in the jewelry. Because of this, it usually isn’t an attractive metal for rings or watches.
• It will also burn a hole in your pocket. Pure gold comprises of twice as much gold as 14K gold which costs much more to produce jewelry with the help of this metal. 

We hope that we were able to provide you clarity on 24k/22k/18k as well as 10k 14k Gold Jewelry. If there is anything else that you would like to know then you can visit the official website of Global Watches10.