There’s nothing more beautiful than receiving gold jewelry as a gift, don’t you agree? But we all know that one piece is not enough, especially if you’re interested (or should I say obsessed?) about this beautiful metal. Want to know more about it for now? Here we tell you some facts about gold itself and gold jewelry today.
Gold is a chemical element which, in its purest form, is a bright, slightly reddish yellow, dense, soft, malleable and ductile metal. This metal has been a valuable and highly sought-after precious metal for coinage, jewelry, and other arts since long before the beginning of recorded history
The three largest markets for gold jewelry today are China, India and the United States, and each of these countries recognizes gold with a unique cultural significance. Acquiring jewelry is connected to celebrations, relationships, self-expression and hopes for the future in these countries. In fact, in the United States, gold is also very much used in wedding rituals.
However, although very popular, gold is actually rare. Really rare. In fact, it has been said that it is more difficult to find a one-ounce nugget of gold than a five-carat diamond. Also, it is postulated that over 90 percent of the world’s gold has been already been mined, which means there’s not that much left to discover and acquire.
Aside from its scarcity and beauty, its value as jewelry material is also because of its composition and durability. It resists tarnish and rust, and is also immune to corrosion, oxidation, and acids. The value of gold jewelry is based on several other factors: karat count, weight in grams, and the workmanship reflected in the piece.
Karats are actually a measure of the percentage of gold to alloy contained in gold jewelry. Pure gold, the 24-karat variety, is too soft to make quality jewelry out of. So it’s mixed with other alloy metals such as copper and silver, for strength. The most common type of gold jewelry is 14K gold. The minimum karat for an item to be called gold varies by country. In the US, 10 karat is the legal minimum accepted standard of gold, 14 karat being the most popular
Yellow gold, a favorite of many jewelry lovers, is usually mixed with copper and silver alloys. It is the most popular color, but today gold has become available in a diverse palette. In fact, there’s the newly popular white gold, which is becoming more popular in fashion as well. White gold is created through alloying pure gold with white metals such as palladium or silver. This color has become the overwhelming choice for wedding bands in the United States too.
Other colors of gold are also becoming more known. The inclusion of copper results in the soft pink complexion of rose gold while the more unusual colors such as blue and purple can be obtained from the addition of patinas or oxides on the alloy surface. Black gold for example derives its color from cobalt oxide.
Want to know more? Other types of jewelry will also be discussed soon! So do stick around and visit America Top 10 from time to time.
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