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This article will explore both the gold purity chart and the gold karat scale and explain how to understand the difference between 9K, 10K, 14K, 18K, 22K, and 24K gold. You may have previously thought that gold is gold, but actually, gold varies in purity.
Pure gold is 24K gold, so one karat is one part of 24. This means that 18K gold is 18 parts pure gold and 6 parts other metals. And therefore, it is 75% gold and 25% other metals. This sounds simple enough, but it can get pretty confusing when different countries start to use different spellings.
Gold purity, measured in karats, directly affects the metal’s color, durability, and suitability for different uses, with pure gold (24K) being the softest and most malleable while lower karat gold is harder and better suited for everyday wear.
The name 24 karat (24kt or 24k for short) derives from the karat system for measuring the purity of a gold alloy (a mixture of gold and other metals). The karat system divides an alloy’s metal content into 24 equal parts, and assigns its karat grade based on how many of those parts are gold. 24k gold is 24 parts out of 24, which is equivalent ...
Pure gold, or 24K gold, is 100% pure. 10K gold, on the other hand, is only 41.7% pure. 14K gold, which is the most popular type of gold for jewelry, is 58.3% pure. Each purity level comes with its own unique set of pros and cons.
When shopping for fine jewelry, you may have heard of gold karats, such as 18 karat or 24 karat. Let’s break down the meanings behind different karats of gold. 24 Karat: 100% pure gold . A piece of 24 karat (or 24k) has not been mixed with any other metals, hence it can be considered “pure” gold.
24k gold is at least 99.9% pure. Gold bars fashioned primarily for investment purposes are generally 24 karats, and some coins are as well. If your main goal in buying gold is its investment value, buying gold that’s 24 karats is a smart choice.
The highest karat of gold is 24K gold. 24-karat gold is 100% pure and does not contain any other metals. This makes it the purest gold available, meaning, it has zero impurities and is usually softer than lower karats such as 10K and 14K.
It’s the purest type of gold available, with all 24 out of 24 parts consisting solely of gold. Compared to 10K, 14K and 18K gold, 24K gold has a bright, rich orange-yellow color that looks quite different to the gold most people are accustomed to seeing.
Any parts that are made of gold are called karats (often abbreviated as kt or k). Basically, the more gold something has, the higher its number of karats up to 24. Therefore, if all 24 parts of an item are gold, then it’s 24 karats. If 23 parts are gold, but one part is made of other metals, it’s 23 karats.