Choosing between Karats of Gold

If you are looking to buy some gold jewelry, it is necessary to ascertain which type of gold you will buy. The precious metal is diverse when it comes to its kinds, composition, and appearance. The appearance of gold is hugely dependent upon its composition. And, its composition determines its price. We have listed here the common types of gold used to make jewelry:

24K Gold

The purest of all gold types, 24K or 24KT gold, has 24/24 parts of gold. It has more than 99.7% of gold in its composition. You will find it attractive because it has a rich, bright colour since it is 100% pure gold.  There is no gold category above 24K. Pure gold is also hypo allergic, meaning it does not cause any skin irritation. This gold type is quite expensive when compared to other types of gold because it is highly pure. 

Pros

24K gold is best for investment purposes. If you want to invest in gold, then go for 24K gold. You can buy bullion--bars or coins of 24K gold. 

Cons

Since 24K gold is a soft, malleable metal and does not have any other metal (alloy) in its composition, you can change it into whichever shape you want. It can be bent, warped or stretched easily with little effort. This is what makes it unsuitable for making jewelry--an engagement and wedding ring or any other jewelry. It is not budget-friendly as it is expensive. 

Now, because the 24KT, pure gold is not suitable to make jewelry, other durable metals or alloys are added to:

1. Increase its durability and strength,
2. Bring down its price, making it affordable, and 
3. Give it colours- white, rose gold etc. 

22K Gold

There are 22 gold parts and two metal parts in a 22K gold. The two metals other than gold in 22K gold are copper and zinc. Because of the alloys involved in 22K gold's composition, it is not soft like 24K gold. This makes it perfect for making jewelry pieces. The percentage of pure gold in 22K gold is 91.67%, the other 8.33% percent can be other metals, such as 5% silver, 1.33% zinc, 2% copper.

Pros

22K gold is the best to make jewelry. It is widely used in south-Asian countries. It can be easily shaped into gold earrings, gold rings, gold bracelets, gold bangles, gold chains for men and women. It is definitely cheaper than 24KT gold because it is not a 100% pure gold. 

Cons

It cannot be used to make heavy gold jewelry since diamonds and many other gemstones are heavily weighted and, 22K gold, being softer, cannot hold them. Also, because it is still soft and malleable, it is not an ideal type for making gold jewelry that you have to wear for daily use.

18K Gold

This durable gold form constitutes 75% gold with 25% of the alloy. We call it 18K because there are 18 gold parts in it out of 24. It is widely used in making rings, watches, etc. It does not have a shiny yellow colour as 24K gold, but considered very appealing to make engagement and wedding rings, women’s gold bracelets, gold bangles, men’s gold chains, men’s gold rings, men’s gold pendants etc. 

Pros

Even though it is not as pure as 24K or 22K, it does not cause any skin allergy making it safe to wear. This is because the alloy content that may cause irritation is present in minuscule quantity to bother anyone even with a sensitive skin.

If you want gold jewelry that will also look practical to wear, then 18K gold will serve best for this purpose. It is also cheaper than 24KT and 22KT gold

Cons

It is still expensive. If you have a tight budget, you may wish to look at 14KT gold jewelry. 

14K Gold

14K constitutes 58.3% gold with 41.7% alloy that means 14 gold parts out of 24. It is the most popular for rings and wearable jewelry in the United States. It is not as bright in colour as the other gold types with higher content of gold but it is definitely cheaper and durable than those. 

Pros

It is used in almost 90% of engagement rings or wedding rings, thus making it a perfect choice if you cannot decide which gold type to buy.

It is an all-in-one gold type having purity, durability, and being budget-friendly. The jewelry made using 14KT is ideal for every day, year round use.

Cons

It can irritate your skin if you are allergic to metals like silver, zinc, or nickel, as it has alloy content in higher proportions. If you are concerned about it, you may ask the jeweler about the content of nickel in the jewelry piece. 

10K Gold

10K constitutes 41.7% gold with 58.3% alloy that means ten gold parts out of 24. Being least pure, it is the most durable and least expensive out of all gold types. It was until recently the lowest legal standard of gold in the US. It is widely used in Canada and makes the robust of all jewelry types listed so far. 

Pros

It is a good choice if you have a tight budget because it is the cheapest among all gold types. 

Highly durable because it contains the lowest amount of gold. It is worth wearing for a work environment that may have many hard surfaces. 

Cons

It can cause skin irritation because it has only ten gold parts. If you have any metal allergy, 10K gold may not be the suitable type for you. Reflecting the sale prices, the resale value may not be much for this type of gold.  That said, we at NL Gold Factory buy scrap gold at competitive prices.

The table below explains the extent of alloys in each kind of Karat of gold.

Karat	Composition (alloys)
22	91.7 % gold	8.3% alloys
18	75% gold	25% alloys
14	58.3% gold	41.7% alloys
10	41.7% gold	58.3% alloys

 

The alloys not only provide strength to the metal to make it workable, but also give it colours or shades, also called tones or hues. The three widely used gold tones or colours are- Yellow gold, White gold, and Rose gold. NL Gold Factory offers a variety of yellow gold jewelry, rose gold jewelry, and white gold jewelry at most affordable prices.

Yellow Gold

Yellow gold is classic among gold types. The yellow colour is the natural colour/shade of gold. Yellow gold jewelry in 22KT, 23KT, 18KT, 14KT, 10KT is widely used all over the world.  When it comes to these KT types, however, the jewelry certainly has alloys. 22KT yellow gold contains 91.67% gold, 5% silver, 2% copper and 1.33% zinc. As per table above, 18KT yellow gold will contain 75% gold, 15% copper, 10% silver. 14KT yellow gold will contain 58.5% gold, 29% copper, 12.5% silver. 

White Gold

Goldsmiths use various ways to make white gold using yellow gold and white metals. 18KT White gold consists of  75% gold, 10% copper, 8% nickel, 4.5% zinc, 2.5% silver. Similarly, 14KT yellow gold contains 58.5% gold, 12% copper, 8% nickel, 6% zinc, 4.5% silver. The lesser the content of gold the whiter will be the gold. White gold is also given a layer of rhodium that makes it even whiter. Rhodium coating also helps to protect the white gold from heat, wear and tear.  This coating may need to be done from time to time to keep the white gold shining forever.

Rose Gold

As its name suggests, rose gold is pinkish in colour. The pink colour is because of the copper content used in the composition. Rose gold uses gold, copper, and silver in various proportions to give numerous hues of pink. 18KT rose gold contains 75% gold, 22.25% copper, and 2.75% silver. 14KT rose gold contains 58.5% gold, 31.5% copper, and 10% silver. The best thing about rose gold is that it does not tarnish but may appear darker over years of use. However, people  cherish this darker appearance of their rose gold jewelry for it makes it look absolutely natural and elegant.