How to determine the sample of gold?

Probably everyone knows that not all precious metals in jewelry are used in their pure form. Therefore, it is sometimes difficult for an ordinary person to determine the reliability of a test on gold. But even without special components, and at home you can find out the authenticity of the sample of gold jewelry.

In the manufacture of any jewelry from precious metals, it is placed on it. brand of test. Gold and silver have their own classification of samples. But sometimes manufacturers try to save on the materials used. They add less metal to the impurity than stated on the sample. The numbers on it show how many grams of pure metal (in our case, gold) is contained in the total weight of the product. The smaller the number, the worse the quality of the product.

There are two major government jewelry piercing systems.

The following markings are used here: 375, 500, 585, 750, 958, 999. This means that for 1000 grams of alloy there is one or another number of grams of pure gold, depending on the claimed sample. And the rest of the difference is the added metals (silver, copper, zinc, nickel). For example, in products 585 gold samples contain 58.5%, and the remaining 41.5% are alloys of other metals. In jewelry, 375 gold samples are only 37.5% and so on.

A piece of jewelry made of 100% pure gold is valued at 24 carats. As a rule, such jewelry is rare due to their high cost and physical properties of gold. The metal itself is very soft and easily amenable to external factors. Sample 999 corresponds to 24 carats, respectively, sample 375 is 9 carats.

And also, depending on the amount of added metal, the product will have its own tint. For example, with a high silver content, the jewelry will be a lighter color - the so-called white gold. With a high copper content, the color of the jewelry will be already a reddish hue.

All enterprises engaged in the legal production of jewelry go through control in state assay supervision. Before stamping samples, finished products are checked for gold content. As a rule, products are taken selectively for inspection or some part of them from each production batch.

Often manufacturers, jewelry shops or workshops independently conduct internal verification of the claimed sample.

Before you determine the sample of gold, especially at home, you need to carefully consider the brand of the sample. It should be in the center of the product. For example, if you need to evaluate a sample on a ring, then it should be located at an equal distance from the edges of the circle. All numbers must be the same size and clearly visible, as well as the contour of the sample. If these requirements do not meet, there is a possibility of an unreliable brand on the product.

At home, you can independently find out a sample of gold and verify its authenticity.

Below are a few ways to test a sample.

One of the most popular ways to test a gold sample is to use iodine. For decoration need to drip a few drops of iodine, in case of its darkening, we can conclude that there is practically no gold in it.

Similarly, you can check the decorations with vinegar.. It is only important that the declared sample is not lower than 585. If you have a fake, then it will immediately become darker.

To determine the authenticity of the sample in this way you need 2-3 days. The decoration is rolled into a crumb of bread, and a few days later unfold. If the bread has become a greenish tint, then the sample is true.

An unburnt ceramic product may be used to test the sample, such as a plate. If you hold it with a gold ornament, there should not be dark stripes. If stripes appeared on ceramics, then the jewelry does not contain gold.

This is the easiest way, since the magnet does not attract gold. If you bring a magnet to the jewelry and it attracts to it, it means that it contains metals other than gold.

However, there is a more reliable way to test the sample at home. It requires special components: nitric acid or perchloric gold. If a gold product interacting with one of these substances changes its color and turns dark or even turns black, then it is a fake.

To be sure of the authenticity of the gold jewelry, it is better to contact specialists. Products can be checked either at pawnshops or at places where gold is bought. There I use to check touchstone. This is a black block of siliceous shale. Two features are drawn on it, one with a product, and the second with a reference sample. Then it is immersed in a special solution. If both features have the same color, then there is no doubt about the authenticity of the product.

Do not get involved in the process of checking the gold jewelry, otherwise you can just ruin it. To prevent this from happening, you need to remember some points:

• it is better to carry out test checks from the inside of the jewelry, its outside has the same composition;
• Do not check the product in those places where there are small parts or locks, since before selling the product, these places must be checked by specialists;
• they never put a test on gilding, therefore it is better not to waste strength on it;
• if the decoration consists of several parts and details, then the samples may stand separately on some of them.

And even buying gold in jewelry stores, you can stumble on a fake. The sample is mainly placed on locks and clasps of jewelry; an unscrupulous seller can carry out control only of these individual parts. When they will be affixed with the appropriate sample, then they are inserted into a fake jewelry.

In order not to be in an unpleasant situation when buying gold, you need to know simple rules.

• Visit famous stores or stores with a large retail chain. If in doubt, you have the right to ask for certificates and documents for decoration. No decent store will risk its reputation by refusing to provide them to you.

• If the seller claims that the gold arrived from abroad, and therefore there is no mark on it, this is not true. Any country in the world puts its test in the manufacture of jewelry. It’s another matter that each one has its own, for example, in Europe, and specifically, in Belgium, 585 samples are indicated by the number 3, 750 - by the number 2, 833 - 3. In the USA, they use the karate method.

• The most popular samples are 750 and 585. Now it is rarely possible to meet sample 583, it is no longer used, but you can still find products with it. Such a test was put back in the days of the USSR, and today it is a kind of quality guarantee. If you come across such an ornament, do not doubt its authenticity.

• If you purchase jewelry, and the seller claims that it is an alloy of titanium with gold, then there is no gold in this jewelry. This is just a marketing move to attract customers.

• It must be understood that there can be no defects on high-quality products. No scratches, no bumps, no chips, and even the color should be uniform throughout the product. If you notice a defect, then the test on the jewelry does not match the declared one.

• And most importantly, jewelry with a high content of gold cannot have a low price. Gold itself is an expensive metal. The higher the percentage of gold in the jewelry, the more expensive it will be. And also the price will depend on the complexity of the decoration, the country of manufacture and the total weight of the product.

Understand that in no store or even in a pawnshop it is impossible to meet products from 999 pure gold. As noted above, gold is a soft metal and is easily amenable to physical pressure. Otherwise, it would not be mixed with other metals for the manufacture of jewelry or coin minting.

Another way to determine a gold sample at home can be found in the next video.