How to Identify Gold Jewelery

Gold is beautiful and timeless. Many people love to add gold pieces to their jewelry collection by purchasing pieces secondhand or even over the Internet. The problem with not purchasing from a reputable dealer is that you may not be able to identify if you have a genuine piece of gold jewelry. There are a few fool-proof methods to check for gold jewelry. With a little detective work, you'll learn how to identify gold jewelry like a pro.

Difficulty: Moderately Easy

Instructions

Things You'll Need:

• Magnifying glass
• Nitric acid test

1. Check for a karat stamp. A piece cannot be sold as gold jewelry with anything less than a 10 karat rating, roughly 42% gold. A piece that is not stamped with the karat content is not gold. A piece that is stamped with anything less than 10K is also not considered gold.

2. Examine the actual piece with a magnifying glass to check for any evidence of plating. Plating can be seen when gold coloring rubes off to reveal a silver tone underneath. This is a dead giveaway that the piece is not gold, only gold plated.

3. Purchase a nitric acid test if you are worried about replica pieces. A nitric acid test is a simple test where you expose the gold to the nitric acid test and observe any changes in the gold's appearance. Real gold will not change at all, while fake gold will darken. You can purchase a nitric acid test here: http://www.artchemicals.com/.

4. Consider the color of the piece. Gold jewelry will have a lighter and more satin appearance, while impostor pieces will appear yellow and shiny.

5. Bring the piece to a reputable jewelry dealer. He will be able to help you identify real gold because of his expertise in jewelry. There may be a nominal fee for this service, but it will be relatively low considering the importance of the service.