Gold is one of the most precious elements on earth and is also one of the most maleable metals. Pure 100% Gold is too soft for most jewelry purposes and is normally mixed with other metals to form a gold alloy. Different combinations will result in alloys with varying properties which will affect both the color and hardness of the gold.Karat is the percentage of pure gold in an item of jewelry. Higher the percentage of pure gold - the higher the Karat. The Karat symbol is "K" or "KT" and the number that precedes it is the pure gold content. The gold scale is made up of 24 parts. Pure gold is 24 of 24 parts or 100% pure gold. This is represented by 24 Karats, 24K or 24KT. This is shown in the table below:

USA Karat Marks

% of Pure Gold

24K

100.0%

22K

91.6%

20K

83.0%

19K

79.2%

18K

75.0%

15K

62.5%

14K

58.5%

12K

50.0%

10K

41.7%

9K

37.5%

Value; the value of gold is made up of several different factors namely
Weight, Design, Production Method and Finish..

1. Weight; gold is sold by weight and the price per ounce changes regularly as it is traded on the commodity exchange. Gold can also be sold in grams(gr) or pennyweights(pwt).

2. Design; the type of design, design time and the reputation of the designer all contribute to the cost of the finished piece. If the piece is also a single item as opposed to a mass produced piece the cost will reflect this. In many cases the single item will have been hand or designer made which will also increase it's price compared to production line item.

3. Production; With mass produced items the cost per item falls as the number of items increases. If there are many items then the cost of the set-up will be spread out over many items and the per item cost will fall.
Hand made items are much more expensive but should have an individual look and feel compared mass-produced items.

4. Finish; the quality of the gold jewelry finish will increase the price especially if the finish is done by hand. Also, if specialist finishes such as matte or sand blasted are applied the cost will rise.

Designed by Olgun Gizir