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Gold has been a symbol of wealth and luxury for centuries.
It served us as coins, bars, statues, architectural ornaments and many other forms, including jewelry.
One popular gold version is 10k gold.
10k or 10 karat gold is a popular gold alloy used in jewelry. It is 41.7% rich in gold content. The remaining part comes from cheaper metals like copper. This addition makes the mix harder and stronger. Thanks to this increase in durability, gold becomes usable as jewelry. Unfortunately, 100% pure gold, which is 24 karat, is too soft to be a jewelry item.
This article will help you to develop a general understanding of the subject and make the right choice for your jewelry.
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What is 10k gold?
10k gold is a gold alloy with 41.7% purity. It is made of real gold.
Gold is a precious metal that has been used as currency and jewelry for many centuries. It is one of the most valuable metals in the world. It has been used to measure wealth.
This precious yellow metal has a number of properties that make it valuable. The foremost qualities of gold are its rarity, malleability, hypoallergenic property and resistance to corrosion.
Gold is a rare, precious metal
Gold can be found in rocks, but it can also be extracted from seawater or mined from the earth’s crust.
Through history, about 200,000 tonnes of gold has been mined.
And every year, about 2,500 to 3,000 tonnes of gold is brought above ground. This is roughly 1.5% in addition to the total historical mining output.
Nearly half of the above-ground stock is in jewelry and about 1/5th is in private investments.
Had we decided to share the yearly output of every one on our pale blue dot, each of us would have received about 0.375 grams of gold. That makes 0.013228 in ounces.
Thus, owning a 1 oz gold eagle coin or a 10k gold ring, puts you in the top tier of the world by gold holdings!
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Gold is malleable and ductile
Gold is one of the most malleable and ductile metals. It can be drawn into thin sheets or wires without breaking.
Thanks to these properties, we produce gold wires and chains. We can cover statues, walls, roofs and ornaments with very thin layers of gold.
Gold is safe for jewelry
Gold is one of the most non-reactive substances in existence. It is a hypoallergenic metal. Thus, it is considered safe for jewelry.
Beware of non-standard alloys that may include allergenic metals. These may cause skin irritation initiated by metal allergies.
If any irritation occurs after wearing a gold piece, it is probably due to copper rather than gold. Check this post on the safeness of 10k gold earrings.
In this case, after consulting your medical professional, you may prefer higher karat gold jewelry like 18k. These gold pieces come with a higher gold purity and smaller amount of added metals.
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Gold does corrode or rust
Ever watched adventure movies where treasure hunters discover a chest of gold?
The treasure is always shiny yellow gold like day one. This is the result of high corrosion resistance.
Gold does not rust either. Rust is a form of oxidation we see in iron and iron alloys. Gold alloys do not include iron, thus they do not rust.
Gold does not tarnish like sterling silver. Tarnish is the blackish spots we observe on the surface of sterling and some other silver alloys. These are the result of sulfur compounds interacting with silver.
PURITY
What is Karat?
Gold purity is measured in karat. Just like the gram value shows the weight, karat value shows the purity of gold of a jewelry piece.
The word “karat” is derived from the carob seed which was used to measure the purity of gold in ancient times.
The higher the karat number, the purer the gold. For example, pure gold is 24 karat or 100% pure . 24 karat is the highest karatage possible.
1 karat represents 1 /24th weight of a gold piece.
The 10k gold has 41.7% gold in its composition.
In other words, it has 10 parts of pure gold mixed with 14 parts of another metal. This latter part comes from cheaper metals, like copper.Thus, the price of the alloy is less than solid gold.
Check this post on the differences between 10k vs 14k vs 18k Gold.
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COLOR
Gold has a metallic luster and a yellow color. 24k pure gold has a reddish yellow color.
10k gold has a similar appearance with a less yellow tint. The added metals distance its color away from yellow.
The yellowness decreases as the gold percentage decreases.
For example, 18k has 75% gold purity. It is closer to 24k gold while 14k gold is less similar.
PRICE
10k gold chain is made of real precious metal.
We can easily calculate the gold value used in its production.
Take the weight in ounces, say 0.2 oz and multiply it with 0.417. That makes 0.0834 oz: This is the gold weight used in the making.
Now, find the trading gold price from goldprice.org or a similar site.
Say, it is $2,500, then the price of your chain’s gold content is 0.0834× 2,500 = $208.5
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Conclusion:Is 10k gold real? Is it good quality?
10-karat gold is made of real gold.
It is a mix of yellow gold with other metals to increase hardness.
In its pure form, fine gold is too soft for jewelry. Thus, harder alloys like 10-karat or 14-karat gold is used in the production of jewelry pieces.
10-karat gold is a widely used gold type. It delivers gold’s shine with hardness and durability. It is a good choice for jewelry.