Gold is considered one of the most beloved precious metals, everything is worn out of it, regardless of age categories. Today, on sale you can find jewelry made from real gold, as well as from gypsy. To avoid buying fake jewelry, you need to know how to distinguish expensive metal from cheap alloy.
What it is?
Gypsy gold is an alloy of brass or yellow copper, containing a small percentage of the precious metal. Often it is also called samovar gold. It is very simple to distinguish gypsy gold from the present, since it is not branded and soluble in all acids (real high-quality gold can be dissolved only in selenic acid and only at temperatures above 200 ° C). Jewelers do not consider gypsy gold a precious metal.
Structure
Randol (gypsy gold) is produced from copper and beryllium, this composition is characterized by corrosion resistance and high strength. Since beryllium is very expensive, gypsies have learned to replace it with cheaper analogues, in the form of mixtures of chromium, steel, nickel and copper. Consequently, the price of jewelry made from randol is low.
How to check a fake?
Many have seen rain of gold at a gypsy wedding, but few have thought that not everything that glitters is gold. Therefore, if you intend to purchase jewelry, you need to know how to distinguish a real precious metal from a fake. When choosing one or another jewelry made of gold, you need to pay attention to the following:
- the presence of a well-readable mark on which a sample of metal is indicated;
- all small parts and stones must be firmly fixed in the places of fastening;
- fasteners on jewelry should be easy to open and close;
- appropriate price.
If the jewelry meets all of the above points, but still continues to cause distrust, you can check it “for a tooth”. Real gold is a soft metal and can be easily pressed by a tooth. Besides, There are other ways to verify metal authenticity at home.
- To the sound. You need to take a gold product and throw it on a hard, smooth surface (for example, a table). If it is genuine, it will emit a crystal clear ringing. Using this method, you cannot check long gold items (bracelets, chains).
- For durability. If the decoration is scratched with a sharp object, and a dark glory is found under the lower layer, then this is a fake.
- You can also check the gold with vinegar - the real metal will not change color, and the fake will immediately darken. If iodine is added to the surface of the product and nothing happens after three minutes, it means that a high-quality precious metal is purchased. Black or white spots will remain on the fake. Many also check jewelry with a magnet, real gold does not react to it in any way.
There is another popular way to test expensive metal with other gold items. To do this, just take both jewelry and draw a strip on a piece of paper and compare. The prints must be exactly the same. In addition to all of the above, jewelers are advised to verify the authenticity of gold by looking closely at the product in daylight and in the shade.
The precious metal retains its color and luster regardless of the level of illumination, as for the fake, in the shade it looks faded, dull, and shimmers and shines in the sun.
Special attention should be paid to checking the authenticity of jewelry using the Archimedes method. The only thing that it is suitable only for jewelry of large weight. They need to be immersed in water and measure how much liquid will be displaced. Then, using formulas in physics, you need to calculate the mass of the product and find out whether it is genuine.
Application
Today on sale you can find products from an alloy of beryllium and copper. They are represented by beads, clips, earrings, rings and necklaces. Jewelry made of such alloys (gypsy gold) looks expensive, but does not have a test, since this metal is not real gold.
Despite this, the popularity of gypsy gold jewelry is growing every year since they are cheaper.
Gypsy gold is widely used, for example, it is customary for men to wear earrings of this metal from the gypsy people, they are, as it were, a person’s calling card. Earrings are threaded into the ear of a male child immediately after birth. The earring in the left ear means that only the only son grows in the family. Large gypsy gold earrings are also in great demand among modern women of fashion; models that have many pendants in the form of coins deserve special attention.
The only thing that they can be purchased only in eastern countries.
Jewelers also use this alloy in the manufacture of inexpensive jewelry. To give them a solid look, the craftsmen additionally decorate with beads and various pebbles. Such gold is also used in the manufacture of bracelets for watches, gift cigarette cases, knife blades, handle cases. There is a randol on the crowns of teeth, but they often do not take root, quickly darken and cause an allergic reaction.
He also found application in the electrotechnical and automotive industries. Springs, springs, bearings and shock absorbers are made from this alloy. Since gypsy gold is resistant to heat, it can be used in sliding bearings and as elements of a pipeline. Randol is also used as the main material for drilling rigs; it does not break or deform.
A few life hacks to care for the golden signs in the video below.
