What are some gold samples for jewelry and how to determine them?

There is no person in the world who does not know about gold. As a precious metal, it has found very wide application, especially in the jewelry industry. Most jewelry is made from it. Jewelers work with gold and can give it any shape and size. After, for example, the chain is made, it is quite difficult to assess its real value. So that consumers can navigate and understand what kind of gold and how much was used, in the 17th century, jewelers coined the term test. What it is, what it happens, how to determine it, we will discuss this article.

A test is a kind of stigma, marking of jewelry, which, according to the law, must be applied to all types of similar products. Most jewelry is made using not pure precious metal, but many other components. Quite soft gold is perfectly combined with other metals, each of which has its own technical parameters that are transmitted to the alloy.

• Nickel. Increases the hardness coefficient of the jewelry and its corrosion resistance. But you need to know that nickel can cause an allergic reaction.

• Copper. Its presence in the alloy can be determined quite easily - it acquires a red color. Also, copper has corrosion resistance.

• Silver. Due to the presence of this metal, the gold alloy will become more elastic, it becomes easy to work with.

• Platinum increases the coefficient of elasticity and the melting temperature.

• Palladium and zinc. These components are added in order to enhance the elasticity of gold and lower the melting point.

I would also like to say that in the world there are several systems for marking jewelry.

• Metric Used in most countries, including the Russian Federation. It uses the percentage in the alloy of gold and other metals. The highest is 999, that is, this jewelry will be almost pure gold.
• Karatnaya. This system of marking precious products is used today in the United States and some European countries. The highest sample is 24, the lowest is 9.
• Zolotnikova. This is the oldest test of gold for jewelry, which was applied to products until 1927. The highest was considered 96.

Today, thanks to the work of chemists and jewelers, there are a lot of samples. Consider the main ones.

• 999. This is the highest indicator of quality, the highest standard. There are practically no other impurities in such an alloy - their share is less than 1%, all the rest is pure gold. The products of this test are characterized by a dull yellow color, without much shine, which is so important for jewelry.

• 958. The presence of this mark on the jewelry may indicate that in the composition of the alloy from which the product is made, in addition to gold, there is also silver. The product is 95.8% made of pure gold of the highest quality, but the remaining 4.2% is silver and copper. This jewelry is quite strong, durable and has an excellent appearance. It is characterized by bright yellow color. Of the alloy of such a test, wedding rings are most often made.

• 750. Due to the fact that the composition of the alloy in a sufficiently large amount contains copper, jewelry with this type of stigma is characterized by a red tint. Also, jewelry can have a greenish or yellow tone, it all depends on additional components. 75% of the alloy is pure gold.

• 585. It contains 58.5% of gold, everything else is other precious and not very metals. It is most often used for the manufacture of pendants, chains, rings, earrings, brooches, bracelets. Products are characterized by excellent appearance, gloss and color.

• 583. This type of test belongs to the gold standard of the USSR. Such a stigma began to be applied since 1927. If someone has preserved the decorations of great-grandmothers, then they will definitely have 583 samples. Today it is not used, 585 is used instead.

• 375. Jewelry 375 of the cheapest. The main components of the alloy are silver and copper. The percentage of gold in the alloy is 37.5, but other metals - 62.5%. Products with such a stigma very quickly lose their original appearance, they fade and begin to become covered with black spots. It is from this alloy that there are earrings, bracelets, chains, pendants.

Many when buying gold jewelry begin to wonder what kind of test is the best, and rightly so. Earlier we said that by the numbers and letters that are indicated on the stamp, you can find out what percentage of gold in this product. Labeling can also tell a lot about the properties and technical characteristics of the product. Of course, the higher the fineness, the more gold was used in the process of making jewelry.

Most jewelers and experienced consumers say that if you are interested in buying gold jewelry at an affordable price and with a good appearance, look for a product marked 585. The biggest advantage of such jewelry is that they do not lose their original appearance throughout the entire wearing period. Also worth noting separately sample 750. Very often today this type of alloy is used for the production of jewelry.

Today, there is a large jewelry market. There is a great demand for this product, therefore, in addition to high-quality genuine products, there are also fakes. Many consumers are interested in the question of whether it is possible to determine the sample and amount of pure gold in jewelry independently at home. Sure you may. There are several fairly simple methods.

1. The first thing you need to pay attention to the color of the product. Pink color indicates that the alloy contains copper and silver. White shade - that the main part of it is made of silver or palladium. If the product has a characteristic purple hue, then aluminum or potassium was added to the alloy for making the jewelry. But the presence of a greenish tint may be the reason that several metals were used to produce jewelry.
2. Use a magnet. A product made of pure gold will not be attracted to a magnet.
3. You can distinguish a fake by applying table vinegar and iodine. To do this, apply a small amount of iodine to the product and place it in a container with vinegar. If the place where iodine was applied is darkened, then you are dealing with counterfeit goods.
4. Black bread will also help identify fake. Put the decoration in a fresh crumb. After a few days, when the bread becomes stale, remove the product from it. The presence of traces of oxidation and greens indicates that the jewelry is made of pure gold.
5. Take the jewelry and rub it on the surface of the ceramic unfired tile. Pay attention to the nature of the marks that remain on the tile. Gold leaves a strip of yellowish color. If the trace has a characteristic dark color, it is not a precious metal.
6. You can use ordinary glass. You just need to hold the product on a glass surface. If the jewelry is made of precious metal, it does not leave any marks on the glass, since gold is much softer.

There is another sure, but unsafe way, which provides use of acid. To conduct this test, you need to buy a special set for testing jewelry. But you need to remember that acid is a very dangerous chemical element, contact with it can be harmful to health.

All of the above methods for determining the sample can be useful if you have jewelry that is not labeled. Yes, such products also exist. For example, if the jewelry is old and was made even when no one knew anything about the samples. Or, the jewelry was made to order.

More reliable information about the gold sample and its reliability can be obtained by contacting to the state inspection of test supervision or to a pawnshop. An exact test will help you find out a special device - electrochemical detector, which uses a special reagent. Its sensor is applied to the surface of the gold product, it shows the type of metal, the composition of the alloy, the proportion of each component, and, accordingly, the sample.

One of the methods for determining the sample on gold products is presented in the following video.