5 Easy Steps to Check Authenticity of Your Gold Jewelry
Gold is a symbol of power, status, and class. When buying any gold jewelry especially when you buy gold jewelry online, it is imperative that you know that the gold is not fake. Let us look at a few of the methods by which you can verify the gold authenticity of your jewelry.
- Magnet Test:
Gold is a non-magnetic substance. You will need a very strong magnet that can be availed at your local hardware shop. Pure gold effortlessly slide-off on a strong magnet whereas fake gold sticks to a strong magnet. This is one of the ways to detect if the gold jewelry you have purchased is fake or not. It is recommended you also use 1 or 2 other tests mentioned in the article before you run to complaint about fake gold.
Exception: The clasp of some jewelry may not be real gold, but chains and charms will be. So, the rest of the jewelry may not be attracted to the magnet, but the clasp would be attracted to it.
- Acidic Test:
Pure gold will not be affected by the acid as it is resistant to oxidation and corrosion. In order to test it at home, you can make a small scratch on the gold and place a small drop of nitric acid on the spot. If the spot turns green, it is not real gold. If you have gold over sterling silver, the spot will look milky. There are different strengths of acid available which can be used to test different carats. Inexpensive acid test kits can be bought anywhere from the store.
- Check Weight and Size of the Gold:
Original gold and silver have super dense metals which are much denser than the base metal. Therefore, all fake gold jewelry pieces that weigh accurately either would have a thick diameter or would be under-weight to have the proper diameter.
You can also make use of a caliper or jeweler's scale to weigh the gold. This will make sure that the weight, diameter, and thickness of these valuable metals adhere to the specified standards.
- Check the Stamp or Hallmark:
All the real gold is stamped with a hallmark that will note the gold karat. This hallmark is generally found in the clasp of a necklace or bracelet.
The purity of American-made gold earrings is measured in karats; this karat is shown by the letter "K". The number simply indicates, in parts per 24, how much of the metallic is definitely gold. 24K gold refers to the purest form of gold that contains around 99.90% of gold.
- Get it Checked from a Professional:
The best way to know if your gold jewelry is real or not is to take it to a reputable jewelry dealer or professional. A dealer has all kinds of gold testing kit that may be used to know if the gold is real or fake.
