17 Oct How Can I Tell if My Gold Jewelry is Real?
Gold is not just a precious metal. It’s one of the most precious, so knowing how to tell if gold is real can boil down to a matter of real financial consequence. The difference in value between an 18k gold chain and an electroplated one is big.
At C. Blackburn Jewelers in La Jolla, we not only buy all types of gold jewelry, we explain clearly how we arrived at our cash offer and gladly answer any and all questions you may have. We pride ourselves in being the highest paying San Diego gold buyer, as well as a knowledge base for all things related to gold and diamond jewelry.
So, towards that end, let’s learn how you can tell if your gold jewelry is made from real gold.
The Professional Test
If you must know conclusively the purity of the gold jewelry you have, there is no substitute for a certified La Jolla jeweler or jewelry appraiser. For customers looking to sell their jewelry, C. Blackburn Jewelers will gladly verify the gold content for free. At other San Diego jewelers, there is sometimes a small fee for having a gold test conducted on your items.
A fire assay test can determine gold content, but it sacrifices a small amount of gold, and is often seen as too destructive. Another professional tool used is an XRF reader. XRF technology uses x-rays and measures the resulting secondary fluorescent x-rays to determine the gold’s qualitative and quantitative composition.
This non-destructive technique is often considered the ‘gold standard’ of testing, but it may not be readily available to the average person.
How then can you tell if the jewelry you inherited from is real gold? There are some techniques available to the layman, but none are without potential error.
Gold Purity Marks
The first thing to look for on a piece of gold is a gold purity mark. Pure gold is too soft to use in jewelry, so it is mixed with other metals to produce a serviceable alloy.
Pure gold is known as 24 carat gold, and alloys are identified as a percentage of that purity, for instance, 18 carat gold is 18/24ths pure, or 75%. All gold jewelry sold in the United States should carry a symbol of either carat weight (18k) or an international purity mark (750 for 18k gold).
While a good indicator of gold content, just checking the mark isn’t foolproof. Some older pieces may have no mark or the mark may have been worn off, and other pieces, particularly those claiming to be 14 and 10 carats, may be intentionally mis-marked (i.e. fake gold jewelry).
How to Test for Plated Gold
Plated gold is gold that is chemically or electrochemically bonded to the surface of another metal, like copper or silver. Plated gold can be marked with EP (electroplated), GEP (gold electroplated), RGP (rolled gold plated), and HGE (heavy gold electroplate), but just because a piece doesn’t have one of these marks doesn’t mean it is solid gold.
The easiest test for plated gold is simple observation. Although gold can change color slightly with age (antique pieces may have dark areas around the edges), check the piece carefully for any area that appears unevenly colored, or that has chipped in any way. If a nick or chip reveals another metal underneath, the piece is obviously gold plated.
The most reliable test to perform on a potentially plated piece is a nitric acid test. Available to the public as a testing kit, a nitric acid test involves dropping a small amount of nitric acid into a small scratch on a piece and observing the reaction. Any kind of reaction at all is an indication that the piece is plated.
A simpler test to determine if a piece is gold plated is to use a magnet, but you’ll need to use a strong one. If the piece shows any attraction to the magnet, it is most likely plated. The issue with a magnet test is that a result showing no attraction isn’t necessarily an indication of a solid gold piece. Some unscrupulous manufacturers plate non-magnetic metals with gold, and a magnet test would not reveal the truth.
Please note that most (if not all) La Jolla gold buyers do not buy gold-plated jewelry. They only buy 9k-24k solid gold jewelry.
Sell Gold Jewelry in La Jolla (San Diego)
Visit C. Blackburn Jewelry to sell all types of gold jewelry, including vintage and antique items, broken gold earrings and chains, and Asian gold. Call our owner Carl Blackburn at 858-251-3006 to set up an appointment.
We will gladly perform gold tests on your jewelry completely free of charge.
To get a preliminary cash quote for your gold jewelry, send a text message with photos to: 619-723-8589. You may also send us an email by using the contact form below.
