Gold is one of the most popular and well-known metals, but the fineness or composition of gold is not fully understood by everyone. It is worth noting that pure gold is used to collect and gild castings, coins, but due to its softness and fragility, pure gold is not suitable for jewelry making. Gold alloys with other metals are used to make jewelry last a long time and look beautiful.
Fineness is the relative amount of precious metal in an alloy. The standard content of precious metals in alloys is specified in ISO (International Organization for Standardization) and may also be a standard of measurement set by the state.
Testing is used to determine the quality and quantity, as well as the identity and characteristics of precious metals and their alloys.
The unit of measurement standard indicates the value of the alloy and the relative content of precious metals per kilogram of the alloy (1,000 g). This ratio is indicated by a fineness mark which is embossed on the product. Precious metals include: gold, silver and platinum.
The concept of karate fineness is less well known. Some countries, such as Switzerland or England, measure the amount of precious metals in a 1-kilogram alloy by the carat system. With this relative calculation system, the entire 1 kilogram of pure metal is equated to 24 parts, then 24 carat gold is pure gold. It is important to remember that the carat weight unit of precious stones is not the same as the karate fineness, so they should not be confused.
Lithuanian fineness and tasting is defined in the Law on State Supervision of Precious Metals and Precious Stones of the Republic of Lithuania. In Lithuania, state supervision of precious metals and their products is performed by the Lithuanian Assay Chamber, and gold assay is inspected by experienced specialists. In Lithuania, the law allows for the fineness of gold products: 375, 585 and 750. Knowing the exact fineness of a product, it is marked with a special mark, in Lithuania with a slash mark and a certain number that indicates the amount of gold in the product. Gold products with less precious metal cannot be sold as gold products. If certain parts of the product are not made of gold or their fineness is lower than that of the whole product, then it is marked MET.
Comparison of gold fineness by purpose:
1000 (999) - Chemically pure gold.
958 - Jewelry Gold
916 - Gold for dentures, metal of British gold coins.
900 - gold coin alloys, denture gold.
750 - jewelry gold, denture gold.
585 - jewelry gold.
500, 375 - cheap jewelry gold.
The composition of gold
Naturally pure gold is yellow, but the most popular colors for gold products are yellow, red and white. The fineness of gold determines the color intensity of the product - the higher the fineness, the brighter the colors and the wider the choice of shades. So what does the color of gold depend on?
Red gold is an alloy of gold with copper, some silver can be added to brighten the color. The more copper there is in the alloy, the brighter the red hue.
White gold is an alloy of natural gold and white metal (palladium, platinum) and can be plated with rhodium. Rhodium is one of the most valuable and rare precious metals that does not rust or oxidize. The brighter the white gold jewelry, the greater the fineness.
Yellow gold is obtained by adding a little silver to the alloy.
Gold is usually mixed with silver, platinum, copper, zinc, nickel, cadmium and loose. Gold and silver alloy is corrosion resistant, soft, plastic, easy to machine, often used in electrical equipment. The alloy of gold and copper is resistant to corrosion, harder and more brittle than pure gold, usually used in coins, jewelry, decorative and anti-corrosion coatings. Gold alloys with platinum, iron, indium or zinc are abrasion resistant, easy to machine and cast. These alloys are fused to porcelain to make dentures.
Gold is one of the most beautiful, rarest and most precious precious metals that fascinates everyone. Therefore, before buying gold products, it is important to choose carefully and not to buy a counterfeit.
