This is good information on Gold and Silver
What is a Gold KARATGold's purity is measured in karats. The term "karat" harks back to the ancient bazaars where "carob" beans were used to weigh precious metals. 24 karat is pure gold, but its purity means it is more expensive and less durable than gold that is alloyed with other metals. Different alloys are used in jewelry for greater strength, durability and color range.
The karatage of the jewelry will tell you what percentage of gold it contains: 24 karat is 100 percent, 18 karat is 75 percent, and 14 karat is 58 percent gold. When comparing gold jewelry, the higher the number of karats, the greater the value.
KARAT AND PERCENTAGE1 karat equals 4.167
6 karat equals 25.000
8 karat equals 33.333
12 karat equals 50.000
14 karat equals 58.333
18 karat equals 75.000
22 karat equals 91.671
24 karat equals 100.000
Europeans have long embraced 18-karat gold as their metal of choice, and with good reason. Its rich yellow color, luxurious look and feel have an extraordinarily sensual appeal; many European women treat 18-karat gold like a second skin, even wearing it to the beach!
Today, women in the U.S. and around the globe are "trading up" and treating themselves to the beauty and opulence of 18-karat gold.
Karat marks: When buying gold jewelry, always look for the karat mark. All other things being equal, the higher the karat, the more expensive the piece. In the United States, 14-karat gold, or 583 parts pure gold, is the most common degree of fineness. Nothing less than 10 karats can legally be marked or sold as gold jewelry in the U.S. However, lower karatages, such as 8-karat gold and 9-karat gold, are popular in other countries.
18-karat gold is 18/24ths, or three-quarters pure gold, and jewelry of this fineness is marked 18k or 750, the European designation meaning 75% gold.
Always look for the karat mark or "k" that appears on the back of the piece. By U.S. law, if a karat mark appears you should also see the manufacturer's trademark to assure you that the karat marking is accurate. The country of origin should also appear.
In addition to the karat mark, every piece of gold jewelry should be stamped with a hallmark or trademark of its maker, and sometimes its country of origin. These designations assure you that you are buying genuine karat gold jewelry. Heavier pieces contain more gold.
Gold Types: Gold Filled, also called Gold Overlay, refers to a layer of at least 10-karat gold that has been permanently bonded by heat and pressure to one or more surfaces of the support metal, then rolled or drawn to a prescribed thickness. The karat gold must be at least 1/ 10 of the total weight.
Gold Plate means that a layer of plating of 10-karat gold or better has been bonded to a base metal. The karat gold content may be less than 1/20, but it must be properly identified by weight in terms of total metal content.
Gold Leaf is just gold plating that's been pounded and applied by hand.
Gold Colors:
Yellow gold is alloyed with silver and copper. It is the most frequently used type of gold there is. Malleable, ductile, and generally non-corrosive, it has a high melting point and is not susceptible to compression.
White gold is alloyed with a large percentage of silver, or a selection of other white metals. The percentage of gold naturally varies, according to the amount of other metal used. White gold is highly reflective and not subject to tarnish. The ancient term for it was Electrum. Its use predates that of Palladium and Platinum.
Rose gold is alloyed with copper, and perhaps silver. The proportions are about one part of copper to three parts of 24-karat gold.
Gold Pricing: Gold pricing is based on a number of factors, including karatage, gram weight, design and craftsmanship. The karatage and gram weight tell you how much gold is in a piece, but don't rely on these alone to determine price. Remember, a price based solely on gram weight does not reflect the work that has gone into the piece.
information provided by
http://www.e-goldprospecting.com/ht...a_karat.htmlTO FIND GOLD CONTENT AND DOLLAR VAULE USE THE FOLLOWING FORMULA:
KARAT DIVIDED BY 24, MULTIPLIED BY SPOT PRICE, AND DIVIDED BY 20 EQUALS THE PRICE PER PENNYWEIGHT.
EXAMPLE: 14K DIVIDED BY 24 EQUALS .583
.583 MULTIPLIED BY $363 (SPOT PRICE) EQUALS $212.80
$212.80 DIVIDED BY 20 EQUALS $10.64 (PRICE PER PENNYWEIGHT)
PRICE PER PENNYWEIGHT MULTIPLIED BY RING'S WEIGHT (MINUS STONES) IS THE SCRAP GOLD PRICE FOR THE RING
information provided by
http://www.tomstreasures.com/gs.htmlthis site also provides information on Silver.
What is a PennyWeight of Gold? What is a Gram of GoldThere are 20 pennyweights also referred to as DWT in an ounce. There are also 31.1 grams in an ounce.
Gold is measured in
troy ounces. There are
31.1 grams per Troy ounce. The simplest way to use your home scale is to multiply the number showing as ounces by 20. That's it. If your scale shows 3.5 oz you have approximately 70 pennyweight. 1.5oz is about 30 pennyweight and so on. (Same for silver and platinum)
Ok, now for measuring your gold in grams. The scale shows 3.5 ounces. Multiply by 31.1 and it comes to 108.85 grams of gold. If it's 1.5 oz x 31.1=46.65 grams.
Lastly, if you would like to know a price per gram, follow this formula. $20 per pennyweight is $12.86 per gram. To convert simply divide $20 by 1.555=$12.86. Try $18 dwt divided by 1.555 and you get $11.58 gram.
information from
http://articles.webraydian.com/arti...of_Gold.html
Posted 05/14/2009 6:23 pm
... any amount of any karat weight of gold using any coating technique can be considered gold plate... including electroplating; and we're talking atoms in thickness. These items do not need to be marked. Btw HGE= heavy gold electroplate.
