Gold colours:
There are three main colours of gold used for jewelry; yellow gold, white gold, and rose gold. These colours start with solid gold, and alloys are mixed in to create each colour. Typical alloys used in gold are palladium, copper, and silver.
What is a karat?
A karat indicates the gold content in a jewelry piece. There are 24 karats in pure gold, indicating its 99.9% purity. Lower karat golds such as 22k, 18k, 14k, and 10k represent the number of karats out of 24.
How can I calculate the percentage of gold in my jewelry?
It's easy! All you need to do is divide the number of karats indicated on the stamp by 24, for example, if your jewelry has a 10k gold stamp, you must divide 10 by 24, making it 41.7% gold, and 58.3% aloys.
What is the best karat for jewelry?
There are many things to consider when you are choosing what karat is right for you. We have curated a list of things to think about before making your decision.
Colour:
Every Karat of gold has a slightly different shade of colour. The higher the karat, the higher the gold content. Gold with higher purity such as 22k will naturally have a deeper yellow colour, and gold with a lower purity will have a lighter colour such as 10k.
Price:
Because Karats represent the amount of gold content, the higher the karat, the higher the gold content, making it more expensive. Respectable Jewelers will not sell jewelry with a gold content lower than 10k, being the most affordable, and 22k being the most expensive.
Durability:
Pure gold is naturally very soft, and this impacts the durability of jewelry. 22k gold is the highest karat gold used for jewelry, and is also the softest. 10k gold is the lowest recommended karat gold used for jewelry, and is the toughest due to its lower gold content, and higher content of alloys such as silver
Resell:
Although jewelry is a fun way to accessorize, and express yourself, it can also be thought of as an investment. Lower karat gold has less resale value because of its lower purity in gold, however this does not mean the highest karat gold will have the highest resale value. 14 karat gold has high resale value because it is more affordable than 18k or 22k, reaching a larger buying audience, and is widely known for its shade of colour.
Conclusion:
There is no right or wrong in choosing what karat of gold is best for you, just consider the combination of colour, price, durability and resale value, and you will be fine!