WHAT’S THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN GOLD TYPES?

We’re probably all familiar with gold varieties: white gold; yellow gold; pure gold; and of course, 14-karat gold, 18-karat gold, 24-karat gold, and on and on and on. What’s the difference between these gold types?

We thought it might be a good idea to provide a short description of each of these types of gold. That way, if you’re in the market for gold jewelry in Vancouver or Portland, you can visit Erik Runyan Jewelers armed with information that will help you decide what’s best for you.

Of course, even if you skip this blog post completely and visit our downtown Vancouver jewelry store without knowing the difference between a karat and a carrot, there’s no need to worry. The jewelry experts at Erik Runyan Jewelers know a thing or two about gold. We’re happy to assist you and to answer any questions you may have.

But for now, on with the gold show!

Gold

You may recall from your high school chemistry classes that gold (symbol Au; atomic number 79) is a chemical element and precious metal. It’s also the only yellow metal.

For thousands of years, gold has been mined and prized for its beauty and malleability. It adorns jewelry, coins, art, tombs, and has been used as currency. Gold in its pure form and the purest color is mined throughout the world, including the United States.

But let’s not get bogged down in those details. Let’s get bogged down in other details so that we can answer the question: What’s the difference between gold types?

Pure Gold? It’s all about the karats.

Did you know that pure gold — aka fine gold in commercial settings — is 24-karat gold? Let’s hear from Francis H. Brown, dean of the College of Mines and Earth Sciences at the University of Utah (as quoted in Scientific American):

“The purity of gold is defined either in karats or fineness. A karat is 1/24 part of pure gold by weight, so 24-karat gold is pure gold. To find the percentage of gold in an object when the purity is stated in karats, multiply the number of karats by 100 and divide by 24. For example, 12-karat gold is 50 percent pure gold. Alternatively, the fineness is the amount of gold in parts per 1,000, so pure gold has a fineness of 1,000. A gold object containing 800 fine gold, or a fineness of 800, is 80 percent gold.”

That’s a lot of information, but it does take care of defining the different types of karat gold in one fell swoop. With Brown’s helpful suggestion, we can calculate the percent of gold content based on karats.

• 24k gold: 100% pure gold

• 18k gold: 75% pure gold

• 14k gold: 58.33% pure gold

• 10k gold: 41.67% pure gold

• 9k: 37.5% pure gold

Fun fact: Pure gold is naturally a reddish-yellow color.

Which brings us to our next category of gold: Colored gold!

Colored Gold!

Gold can be any number of colors, including white, yellow, rose, pink, red — even chocolate! How is this possible? It’s done via the addition of alloys (other metals) into the gold. Alloys can include nickel and zinc, as well as silver and copper.

For the sake of simplicity, we’ll just list the elements and not the percentages.

• White gold: An alloy of gold and at least one white metal, such as silver or nickel.

• Yellow gold: An alloy of gold, copper, and silver’

• Red gold: Gold and copper

• Rose gold or pink gold: Same as red but with silver added

Fun fact: Other gold types include blue, green, black, and purple!

Get in touch with Erik Runyan Jewelers today! Let’s find your perfect golden-hued piece of jewelry. Whether you’re looking for a gold ring or an engagement ring made of gold and platinum; fine jewelry with a golden rose color; something that requires the least maintenance or that’s super durable and scratch-resistant; we’re ready to help.

Come by for a visit! We look forward to serving you.