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Riverside Treasure Hunters Club
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Gold Marking InformationGold How can you tell the difference between one alloy and another and determine its gold content? Lucky for us, most of the jewelry that we find is stamped with some kind of identification mark. In the United States, the most common markings on real gold are 8k, 10k, 12k, 14k, 18k, and (if you get lucky) 22k. These markings indicate different values, and have one thing in common-they have a cash value in three ways: the current market price of pure 24k gold; and the weight of the find or item; and the items "K" value. One thing we should know about our gold jewelry is what does the "K" mean in 12k etc. The K marking that you find in most American jewelry is meant as an abbreviation for KARAT or CARAT. Both of these words, go back to the olden days when the pods, of the Carob trees were used to measure weights in the market place. One guideline that I use, and helps me determine gold content is get a 12k ring. This should contain 50% pure 24K gold, or .5000 fine-gold. An easy formula that I use is to determine your Karat marking. Let's say you have a 14k ring for example, first you divide 14 by 24 , because pure gold is 24K, your value should be .5833, rounding that value off you should come up with 58 percent- and your ring should contain 58% gold. |