How to check gold for authenticity at home?

There are situations when you need to determine whether an item is gold. For example, this question may arise if the item was purchased at a pawnshop or other dubious place. Sometimes people find chains and other jewelry on the street. In such cases, it is also interesting whether the value of the discovered jewelry is great. There are many ways to check the metal for authenticity, some of them can be used at home. Let us consider in detail precisely those options that are suitable for independent mini-examination.

It is important to understand that gold and gold plated products are not the same thing. The former are made entirely of noble metal. The latter have only the top layer of gold. Its thickness may be different, but, regardless of this, the main part of such products is made of another, cheaper material.

To understand the first or second option in front of you, do not rely on visual inspection. Even analysis performed using sunlight will be worthless here. A more accurate result can be obtained using a sharp object (for example, it can be a needle or a nail file). Scrape the metal slightly in an inconspicuous place.

Another easy way to determine the authenticity of jewelry is to search for samples. They do not put it on jewelry with gilding. To find the coveted number, you should take a magnifier. On gold, the sample number and carat weight are usually written. There are other numbers. For example, it may be a marking of the manufacturing factory.

Depending on which product is in front of you, you should look for a sample in a certain place:

• earring or bracelet - on a fastener or shackle (if the lock is English);
• a ring on the inside;
• the watch is on the inside of the cover.

A few words should be said about the meaning of the numbers on the sample. The highest standard is 999. This is pure gold. True, today it is almost impossible to meet.

Good options are 958, 916, 750. The numbers 585 and 375 indicate that there are a lot of impurities in the metal. However, this should not be confusing. Do not aim to purchase a product with a number starting with 9. Pure metal is too soft, so this decoration may become deformed when used. But sample 583 is considered very good. Many Soviet-era products have just such a number on the surface.

It’s not easy to distinguish gold from brass, copper or another metal. There are many gold shades, so products may look different. Today on sale you can find jewelry in white, yellow, red gold. But if it turned out to be a sunny day, you can still try to visually determine the authenticity of the subject.

First you need to hold it in the shade and carefully consider. Then the product needs to be taken out in the sun and again to look at its features.

Another way to recognize the authenticity of gold is through sound. Throw the decoration on a table or other surface. Ideally, you should hear an exquisite ringing reminiscent of a crystal. However, this method does not give one hundred percent certainty. For a more accurate result, it is better to resort to other verification options.

Well, of course, it is worth calling logic to help. If the sample is poorly printed, the metal has an uneven shade, roughness, this indicates a low quality product. Most likely, this is either an alloy with a low gold content, or ordinary jewelry.

Almost everyone has this antiseptic at home and it can be safely used to distinguish metals. To check you will need a cotton swab and something sharp. Many use a needle, but a regular knife will do. In an inconspicuous place (for example, on the inside of the ring), you need to slightly scratch the object. Then you should dip a cotton swab in iodine and gently hold it on the resulting scratch.

If the substance brightens and begins to evaporate, then this is a fake. If the dark color of the liquid is preserved, but evaporation does not occur, the item is genuine.

Some people check for real gold using vinegar. The substance is poured into a transparent container. Then the object is lowered into the liquid and wait a couple of minutes. Fake things under the influence of vinegar quickly darken. Noble metal does not lose its purity and shine.

This device can be found in the pharmacy, it is inexpensive. The pencil contains silver nitrate. This is the secret of this method. Product requiring inspection must be wet. Then you should draw on it with a pencil. After this, rinse the item again.

If there is a trace on the metal, then you are either fake or very poor quality gold. On a noble metal of high fineness you will not see anything.

This method is quite dangerous and requires great care, although it allows you to know for sure how valuable the item is. For instance, jewelry buyers use acid and silicon shale in their examination. Rubbing the product on the stone, drip on it with a chemical substance. On a real gold product, a trace of the stone remains even after reaction with acid. With fake metal, it will evaporate.

If there is no special stone, you can do without it. Take a metal container and place the item you want to check on the bottom. Carefully drip nitric acid onto it. If you see the appearance of a green tint on the surface, be aware that the product is not gold. If a milky stain appears, this will indicate that the item is made of a noble metal, but has many impurities in its composition. If the jewelry does not change its tone under the influence of acid, it means that you have high quality gold.

Real gold things are not magnetized. Only products with a small spraying layer made of heavy metals are attracted.

This method is quite primitive. It was used in past centuries, when metal was actively used in trade. Today, you can also bite an object and check whether there will be any teeth marks on it.

Check if real gold, you can use a conventional ceramic plate. The main thing is that it does not have a glazed coating. You can use tiles. Take a metal object and pass it on ceramics. The pressure should be small, but tangible.

If the resulting strip is black, the decoration is fake. If the trace has a golden hue, then the upper part of the item is precisely made of gold.

This method is not too simple. It involves the determination of the weight of the product in different conditions and the implementation on this basis of some calculations. The Greek mathematician Archimedes invented the method. The advantage is that there is no need to violate the integrity of the product (scratch it, expose to chemicals).

The remaining components of the experiment are in everyone’s house. All you need is a transparent glass and thread. So, first the product is weighed. The “dry” weight in grams is recorded. Then distilled water is poured into the glass (you need to fill the container with at least half).

After that, the glass is placed on the scales, the item being checked is carefully lowered into it. If this is a ring, you can use a thread. This will prevent the object from colliding with the walls and bottom, which is important for the purity of the experiment. Wet weight is also fixed. After that, the first indicator is divided into the second. Further, according to a special table, the density level and, accordingly, the quality of the metal are determined.

In order not to suffer at home, checking the purchase for authenticity, save yourself from problems and buy jewelry in trusted jewelry stores. Avoid pawn shops and small suspicious shops. The fact is that unscrupulous sellers sometimes collect jewelry from various parts. For example, a test can stand on the clasp of an earring, since it really is gold.The rest of the product can be made of cheaper metals.

When buying, check the sample and documents for decoration. Do not believe if you are convinced that some foreign manufacturers do not brand jewelry made of precious metals.

On how to check gold at home, see the next video.