Gold jewelry is not only beautiful it is also a status symbol of the wealthy.  Gold has been used as an adornment to show affluence and status for centuries.  The Egyptians used gold jewelry and masks to decorate the tombs of wealthy or powerful. Incan people wore gold as a sign of status.  Throughout history gold has been used to show power and stature. 

Gold is a precious metal that occurs naturally underground in veins.  It is a dense, shiny, yellow colored metal, which is resistant to corrosion.  Gold is not affected by heat, moisture or oxygen making it the perfect metal for lasting jewelry. 

Pure gold is very soft and it can therefore me easily formed into coins, trinkets and jewelry.  However, gold is actually too soft when used in its pure form.  Gold is easily alloyed with other metals, reducing the actual gold content while mixing it with more sturdy metal such as copper, platinum or silver.  Gold that has been mixed with copper has a slightly reddish hue while mixing it with platinum or silver makes the gold lighter or white.

All real gold jewelry is stamped with a mark indicating the type of gold it is.  Gold is categorized by purity.  Pure gold is 24 carat gold or 24k.  Jewelry marked with this stamp is 100% gold.  There are no added metals.  While 24k gold is the purest, it is also the softest.  It can be easily pulled or torn, especially if the jewelry is thin.  18k gold is probably the most popular because it contains enough gold to be luxurious yet is stronger and more durable than pure gold.  Gold jewelry also comes in 14k and 10k.  10k gold has the least amount of gold in it although it is still considered real gold.  Fake gold is other metal painted gold color to look like gold. 

How can you tell real gold?  While a jeweler can look through a magnifying lens to help determine the gold content often it is not apparent to the naked eye.  It takes some experience to be able to tell the differences between 24k versus 18k, 14k and 10k gold. One way that the layperson can tell if something is pure gold is by performing the “bite test”.  All that means is that you actually bite into the piece of jewelry with your teeth.  Real pure gold is soft and even your teeth will make a small indentation.  Don’t go around putting a lot of gold into your mouth, however, because painted lead can have the same appearance yet can cause lead poisoning.

Another way to tell real gold is through chemical testing.  Real gold will not react with most chemicals.  In particular, nitric acid is often used to confirm the presence of gold.  You’ve probably heard the term “acid test”.  This is the origin of that phrase because real gold will not react or dissolve when tested with nitric acid.  Be aware, however, that most non-gold metals will dissolve when tested with nitric acid.

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