The Difference Between 10 Karat & 14 Karat Gold Earrings
When buying a pair of gold earrings, you've probably heard the word "karat" used in describing them. While you might notice the higher the karat, the higher the price, the karat rating can tell you about many other features of the jewelry. When comparing 10 karat and 14 karat earrings, the karat rating can indicate the amount of pure gold in the pair, as well as how durable and what color they will be. Does this Spark an idea?
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Content
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An earring's karat rating tells you how much pure gold is in the metal. The higher number the karat, the more pure gold is in the earrings. A 24-karat rating means the metal is 100 percent gold, although this is usually too soft to work with in jewelry. Instead, other metals are mixed with the gold to make it stronger. A 14-karat pair of earrings is 58.5 percent gold paired with other alloys including silver, copper, nickle, tin, zinc, manganese and palladium. The 10-karat earrings are about 42 percent pure gold and mixed with the same alloys.
Durability
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Gold is a soft metal, so the more of it in the earrings, the less durable they will be. A 10-karat pair of earrings is mixed with more silver, copper and other hard alloys than a 14-karat gold pair; therefore, the 10-karat earrings will have more resistance to the wear of daily use. Chemicals, soaps and other abrasives can scratch, bend, dent, stretch and wear down gold earrings with a higher gold content faster than those with lower karat ratings.
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Color
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Pure gold is naturally a bright yellow color; but when it's mixed with other alloys, the metal's color is noticeably dulled and less intense. With about 58 percent of pure gold, a 14-karat pair of earrings should have a yellow-orange tone. Because of this color, the karat is traditionally seen paired with colorful gemstones and diamonds. A 10-karat pair of earrings has less pure gold and therefore has less of a yellow tone. Either karat of gold can be mixed with more zinc and plated with rhodium to create white gold earrings.
Price
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Because 10-karat earrings contain less pure gold, they are typically cheaper than 14-karat earrings. Less gold means more alloys, and alloys are cheaper than gold. In fact, choosing a pair of 14-karat gold earrings over a pair of 10-karat ones can as much as double the price. However, while 10-karat is cheaper and more durable than 14-karat, it is more likely to lead to an allergic reaction on a wearer who is allergic to one of the alloys mixed in.
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References
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