The Basics About Gold Jewelry
When you first go to a store to buy gold jewelry, you might feel a bit lost because there's so many different types, different colors, prices etc. So here are a couple of the basic things you need to know before going out to buy that perfect piece of gold jewelry.
First of all, you should make sure you know what you're buying: ask how many karats the gold has, whether it's real gold jewelry or plated gold, whether the stones are genuine or made of cubic zirconia etc. In most cases, just asking the questions will give you a pretty good idea on the quality of the store: a good one will have staff that can answer all your questions. So let's explain some of the terms usually used with gold jewelry. The first one is karat. 24k gold is pure gold, which has a gorgeous look, but is quite soft and can easily be damaged. This is why they usually add all sorts of alloys to make it stronger, the most common being nickel, silver, copper and zinc. The alloy metals added can also change the color of the gold jewelry (the result is rose gold, white gold or green gold) and affect the quality, which means it has fewer karats. However, at least in the United States, gold has to be at least 10 karats to be labeled as real gold. Another thing to look at when shopping for gold jewelry is the trademark. Any piece of such jewelry should have a manufacturer's trademark, which proves it's genuine. That's also where you find the real number of karats of the gold, and sometimes even the country where it was produced. You can find the trademark on the inner side of the band on rings, on the clasp of bracelets and necklaces and usually on the back of earrings.
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