A safe investment is traditionally gold and has been valued in India for a long time. The gold purity determines the gold rate per gram. There is some impurity in commercially available gold. Therefore, gold quality and authenticity are questioned when buying or selling gold. This post will help you understand gold purity measures that’ll help you make gold buy/sell decisions easy.
What is Gold Purity?
Gold is generally used in jewellery making. It is a soft metal. Therefore, other metals, typically copper and silver, are mixed with them to make gold usable. Gold purity indicates how much quantity of other metals is mixed in gold. For example, the purest gold is 24 karat. It means there are no other metals mixed with the gold.
The gold purity is marked on the jewellery using a quality control stamp or laser engraving. It is done after testing the alloy in a qualified testing laboratory. In India, the Bureau of Indian Standards (BIS) certifies gold purity with the hallmark.
How is the purity of gold measured?
Your gold purity is measured with the help of –
– Karats
Karat is a measurement to determine the purity of gold alloyed with other metals. It shows the parts of gold in an alloy out of 24 parts. In other words, it divides the alloy into 24 parts. A few examples of gold purity are 22 karats (22K) and 18 karats. The higher the Karat, the higher the gold purity will be. The highest karat for gold purity is 24 karat. Usually, 22K gold is used to make sturdy pieces of jewellery.
– Fineness
While using fineness as a gold purity measure, an alloy is divided into 1,000 parts, unlike karats. It is impossible to achieve the fineness of 100%. This is why 999.99 is the highest quality of fine gold. Gold jewellery with 22 karat gold, the most widely used gold to make jewellery, has a fineness of 916. A gold piece with a fineness of 995 points that contains 995 parts of gold itself.
These are strict measures that are helpful while buying or selling gold jewellery. If a gold alloy consists of 749 parts of gold per 1000, it can not qualify for a 750 quality mark.
The fineness of a piece of jewellery determines whether it is gold jewellery in one nation or metal in another, depending on how much gold it contains. For example, a piece of gold jewellery with a fineness of 333 is gold jewellery in Germany, but it is a metal in Lithuania because it does not contain a substantial part of gold.
Gold Content and Purity
| Karats | Fineness | Gold Content |
| 24 Karats | 999 | 99% |
| 22 Karats | 916 | 91.6% |
| 18 Karats | 750 | 75% |
| 14 Karats | 585 | 58.5% |
What does the gold colour depend on?
The metal selected as an alloying element affects the gold properties, such as the workability and colour of the gold alloy. For example, a gold of 585 fineness may have 36% silver and 5% copper. This gives the gold jewellery a greenish tone. A higher percentage of copper can give the gold a reddish tone. Adding silver and zinc makes gold paler. White gold indicates a careful choice of metals in the alloy.
Methods used to check gold purity
While traditional jewellery merchants use a ‘touchstone’ method to check gold purity, gold-buying companies employ transparent and scientifically tested ways. Old gold is cleaned using advanced machines like the XRF machines. It helps customers get the highest value for their gold if they intend to sell gold jewellery.
There is a free facility to check the gold purity with renowned companies. Thus, scientific methods are used by gold buying companies to get the highest accuracy.
The Closing
Thus, gold is too soft to be used in the purest form. It is alloyed with other metals. Customers must be aware of gold purity. Buy or gold sell online with authentic merchants serving their clients with the best services. Some reputed gold buying companies also provide gold buying vehicle services for customers looking for ‘gold sell online’ services in Mumbai and Bangalore.
