A Guide To Understanding Your Gold’s Purity 

Have you ever been curious if your jewelry is really gold?  Or what that little 10K stamp actually means? Figuring out the purity of your gold is an important first step to understanding its value, especially if you are interested in selling or pawning it. Making sense of it all can be more challenging than you may realize. 

Understanding Gold Purity

In most countries around the world, gold jewelry is not pure.  It is mixed with other metals to change its appearance, hardness, color, or strength.  For legal reasons, it’s often required to mark jewellery showing how much pure gold is contained inside.  In North America, we use the Karat system.  You’ll often see stamps on jewellery showing things like 10K, 14K, or 18K.

Karats are a measure of gold purity, with 0 Karat having no gold and 24 Karats being 100% pure.   The higher the Karat of the item, the more pure gold there is.  24K is very soft and has a rich, deep gold color.  As you mix in other metals, the Karat purity decreases.   For example, a 14-karat piece is 58.3% pure gold.  For the math inclined: 14 parts out of 24 are gold.  If you divide 14 by 24, you’ll get 58.3%.  This means that 58.3% of the weight of that item is made of gold. The remaining 41.7% is other metals, such as copper, nickel, silver, or palladium.  This mix will be lighter than pure gold but also brighter, shinier, and probably harder.  It will also be less expensive than pure gold.

Many European countries don’t use the Karat system.  Instead, you’ll find a 3-digit number (like 417, or 585).  These numbers represent the percentage purity. For example, the marking ‘417’ means 41.7% gold, which is the same as 10 karat. 14 karat pieces are marked ‘583’ (sometimes ‘585’), and 18 karat pieces are marked ‘750,’ and so on. The gold content is the same as the Karat system, it’s just marked in a different way. In many ways, this system is more efficient because you don’t need to do any math to understand how pure the item is.

Reading Karat Stamps

Once you have a basic understanding of karat purity, you can examine your gold for stamps or markings. On rings, the markings are often on the inside of the band, and on chains, the mark is often on the clasp or right next to the clasp. By law, gold jewelry sold by a vendor should have a stamp of the piece’s purity, so finding one is a good sign. Unfortunately, it’s not infallible as we increasingly see fake gold jewelry that is stamped as well.  In fact, most counterfeit jewellery mimics stamps and brand names in an attempt to fool buyers. 

While most gold originally had a purity stamp, it can wear off over time. Even more likely: repairs and sizings may have damaged or removed it.  Some vintage gold may not even have a stamp. Don’t worry if you can’t find the stamp, Kelowna’s Premier Pawn Shop is here to help.  We have advanced X-ray testing equipment that will give us precise results on the value of your items.

Other Stamps

Karat markings are often followed by letters, which can have large implications for both the purity and value of your gold. There are a variety of these markings, and if you’re at all unsure about your piece, it’s a good idea to consult an expert to make sure you’re interpreting your stamps correctly.

A karat marking followed by ‘P’ indicates that the piece is plumb, meaning the purity is exact. For example, ’10KP’ is exactly 41.7% gold. US Federal law allows the stamp to deviate .5 karats from the exact purity, so a ’10 K’ stamp could be as low as 9.5 karats, but the plumb stamp guarantees the exact 41.7%. 

On the other hand, some stamps are problematic.  Marks like 10K G.P. actually mean the piece is gold plated in 10K gold.  This means the item is basically costume jewellery or a fake designed to fool people.  If you see letters AFTER the karat mark, it’s safest to have an expert look at it.  

While this overview is helpful, it may still be challenging to determine what your gold is worth. We also understand that appraising and selling your jewelry involves trust. Premier Pawn has been Kelowna’s top gold buyer since 1995, and we would be pleased to assist you! Stop in today to see what your gold is worth!