No precious metal is as legendary and beautiful as Gold. Its rarity, beauty, and enigma have provided it with status as a valuable commodity throughout the history of humanity. Gold has always been used as a monetary standard, and ancient gold jewelry and ornaments dating back centuries have been found throughout the world. Gold has always been and remains the most essential jewelry component, with most precious jewelry pieces created from Gold or inlaid with a Gold setting.
All About
Gold is the most
malleable and
ductile metal, which makes it very easy to work with. It never
tarnishes, and is unaffected by most chemicals. However, it can discolor by exposure to chlorine, bleach, and certain detergents.
Pure Gold lacks resistance to pressure and easily bends. For this reason, Gold jewelry is always
alloyed with other
metals to increase its toughness and durability. The purity of Gold depends on the percentage of alloyed metal, and this number is measured in
karats. The karat measurement determines the percentage of gold to other metals on a scale of 1 to 24, with 24 karats being pure gold. Common karat weights are 22
kt (91.67% gold), 18 kt (75% gold), 14 kt (58.33% gold), and 10 kt (41.67% gold). Pure 24 kt Gold is never used in jewelry as it too flexible and will be bent and mishaped even by minor touches.
Several different
metallic elements are
alloyed with Gold, and some are used specifically to produce a certain color or tone in the Gold. The main metals alloyed with Gold are copper, silver, palladium, nickel, zinc, and iron.
White Gold, which has become very popular in jewelry, is mainly alloyed with nickel and zinc, and occasionally palladium. White Gold resembles the color of
Silver, but it is far more resistant to corrosion and will not
tarnish like Silver.
Rose Gold, which has a slightly reddish tone, is alloyed mostly with copper. Green gold, which appears greenish-yellow, is alloyed with silver, and
Blue Gold, which is gold with a whitish-blue tone, is alloyed with iron.
Some gold-colored jewelry is made out of cheaper metals and coated with a very thin layer of Gold. Such jewelry is known as "Gold-plated". Through normal wear, the layer of gold can erode if it is too thin, exposing the underlying metal.
Gold is one of the heaviest substances on earth. When pure, it has a
specific gravity of 19.3. The international weight measurement of Gold is the troy ounce. One troy ounce of gold equals 31.1 grams.
Uses
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Gold is the most useful metal in jewelry. Rings, bracelets, necklaces, earrings, and many other jewelry items are fashioned from Gold, and Gold is the main precious metal used for jewelry settings. Gold masks and ornaments were used by many ancient civilizations, and Gold has also been used in coinage since the earliest of days.
Picture Rock, which is a white
Quartz with Gold veins is occasionally polished into
cabochons, creating a rare and unusual gem.
Treatments & Enhancements
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Gold is always
alloyed with other
metals to increase durability, and different metals are responsible for producing different colors that are not the natural color of Gold. However, this is the industry standard and all Gold jewelry is made with non-
pure alloyed Gold.
The Precious Metal Gold Sources
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South Africa and China have been the largest producers of Gold. Other important deposits, in order of historical production significance, are the U.S. (Nevada, California, South Dakota, Colorado, and Alaska), Australia, Peru, Russia, Canada (Ontario and the Yukon Territory), Mali, Uzbekistan, Ghana, Papua New Guinea, Indonesia, Argentina, Chile, and Brazil.
Similar Gemstones
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Many
metallic alloys can resemble Gold, and they can sometimes be difficult to tell apart from true gold.
Silver and
Platinum can resemble
White Gold. Professional analysis to inspect physical properties is sometimes required to distinguish Gold from other precious metals as well as cheap alloys.