14 Vs. 10 K Yellow Gold
Gold is valuable as both a beautiful material for jewelry and as an investment that generally increases in value over time. Yellow gold is the traditional color of gold jewelry, coins and bars.
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Definitions
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The karats in gold are a percentage of gold to other alloys. Fourteen-karat gold contains 14 parts gold to 10 parts other materials, while 10-karat gold contains 10 parts gold to 14 parts other materials. Pure gold, or 24-karat gold, is too soft to make jewelry.
Composition
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To make gold hard enough to use in jewelry, alloys are used for the other non-gold portion. Some of the common metals used as alloys in gold are nickel, zinc, copper, silver and platinum.
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Strength
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Because 10-karat gold contains more alloy than higher karat gold, it is the strongest and most durable of gold types. On the other hand, 14-karat gold is softer and more prone to becoming dented or scratched.
Cost
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Because of the higher actual gold content, 14-karat gold is more expensive than 10-karat gold. Sometimes the alloy also affects cost. For example, 10- or 14-karat gold with platinum as the alloy will be more expensive than with nickel as the alloy.
Color
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Usually 14-karat gold has a richer gold color tone than 10-karat gold because of its purer composition. The alloy can also affect color, with zinc and silver causing the least dilution of gold color.
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References
- Photo Credit Image by Flickr.com, courtesy of Litho Printers
