Types of Gold and comparison of gold qualities

When we talk about Jewellery, the first thing that comes to our mind is Gold jewellery. For thousands of years, gold is the most precious metal for people. Which type of gold is best, here you will get the idea of this question. You will see that which gold is best 18k or 24k.

Normally gold is used in the making of jewellery for different functions mainly at weddings. Rather than males, females are more attracted to gold and used gold ornaments.

When you are planning to buy gold jewellery, normally you just think about the gold colour and price. People who are not much aware of gold, don’t know that there are different types of gold. When you are buying gold you are paying against its purity and quality.

There are mainly four types of gold, which are distributed as 24 Karat gold, 22 Karat gold, 18 Karat gold, and 14 Karat gold. Karat is the fractional measure of purity for gold.

In its purest form, gold is a chemical element with atomic number 79 and its symbol is Au. It is bright, slightly reddish yellow, soft, and malleable metal in its pure form. Its colour is the main factor that attracts people.

However as pure gold is too malleable so it’s not possible to make jewellery with pure gold.  Hence to prepare the jewellery it is mixed with other metal alloys to increase its strength.

The mixture of such alloys, it changes the gold colour also. To make it a different colour from its natural state, it is usually alloyed with nickel, copper, zinc, silver, and palladium. The most common colour with these mixtures is green, rose, white, and yellow.

When gold is mixed with alloys, it affects the karat of the jewellery also. As 24K is the purest gold, so most people preferred 22K gold jewellery.  Below are the types of gold as per their purity.

Main Types of Gold

• 24K Gold
• 22k Gold
• 18K Gold
• 14K Gold
• 10K Gold

24K Gold

24K Gold is the purest gold.  It is too soft to wear as jewellery so it is mixed with some other metals to use as jewellery. It is usually available in form of coins, and biscuits and its colour is bright yellow colour. It is more expensive as compared to other types of gold.

22K Gold

22K gold is actually the second name of the 24K gold. When some alloys are mixed with 24K gold to make jewellery it’s called 22K gold. People preferred to wear the 22K gold jewellery as it is considered pure gold. This form of gold is often found in jewellery used at weddings or worn occasionally. When you use jewellery made of 22K, use it carefully.

18K Gold

18K gold means 75% gold and 25% of other alloys. It is considered as low in purity as compared to the 22K gold. But you can find the less price also as compared to 22K and 24K prices. It is less expensive as compared to 24K and 22K. It is commonly used for making rings, watches, and other pieces of jewellery that are used often.

14K Gold

The lowest gold in purity is 14K gold. 14K solid gold contains 58.3% gold and 41.7% alloys. It is more durable in strength. As 14K is less gold saturated its colour is often paler yellow.

10K Gold

10 karat gold is an alloy of gold that contains at least 41.7% of gold and 58.3% the rest being other alloys. It is used to make less precious ornaments and jewellery. This type of gold is very sturdy, not too soft, and doesn’t scratch or bend easily. Remember that 10K gold can cause of skin irritation if you are allergic to certain metals. It is less expensive as compared to other types of gold.