When it comes to buying gold, you will often hear the term “carat” used. But what does this word actually mean?
Carat is a unit of measurement for the purity of gold. The higher the carat, the purer the gold. 24 carat gold is therefore purer than 18 carat gold, which is purer than 14 carat gold, and so on.
The term “carat” comes from the word “keration,” which was used to measure the weight of pearls and other precious stones in ancient Greece. Today, one carat is equal to 0.2 grams.
When buying gold jewelry, it is important to pay attention to the carat weight, as this will affect both the price and the quality of the piece. Higher carat weights usually mean higher prices, but not always. The weight can also affect how strong the jewelry is, as purer gold is softer and more malleable than lower carat golds.
What Are the meanings of the different gold markings, from 575 to 417 Gold Marks?
The different gold markings on jewelry indicate the level of purity of the gold. “24 karat” (24K) is the purest gold commercially sold. It is also called “.9999 fine gold” or “100 percent gold”. All other karats are less than 100% gold.
“18 karat” (18K) gold is 75% pure gold.
“14 karat” (14K) gold is 58.3% pure gold.
“10 karat” (10K) gold is 41.7% pure gold.
The lower the karat number, the less pure the gold and the more it will contain other metals. These other metals can affect the color, weight, and durability of the gold. For example, 14K gold is more durable than 18K gold because it contains more alloyed metals. However, 14K gold may also be a different color than 18K gold because of the different types of metals used in the alloy.
Tommy Prat is a blockchain developer who is passionate about the technology's potential to revolutionize the world. He has been involved in several successful cryptocurrency projects, and he is excited to see how blockchain can be used to create trustless systems that improve transparency and efficiency. Tommy is also an avid martial artist, and he enjoys practicing Brazilian jiu-jitsu in his free time.