We are often asked the question: Is it gold?
Or the customer concludes without knowing much about jewelry and gold:
This is definitely 24kt gold and with real diamonds, as my father/husband always bought the best and most expensive.
Yes, it can be difficult to tell the customer that it probably doesn't quite work that way.
Just telling the truth and destroying their belief that they are holding one of the world's most expensive pieces of jewelry in their hands.
And I completely understand that one might have that thought, because why should it be any different?
As a rule of thumb, jewelry is not made in Denmark with a much higher carat than 14kt, and often, gold bought in Denmark is made in 8kt.
The reason for this is simply that it is much cheaper to produce jewelry in 8kt, as there is not as much pure gold in it
What gold carats are there?
Karat is a way to describe the fineness or purity of gold in jewelry and is denoted as carat = Kt.
Karat is indicated from 0 to 24, as we know it from 8kt - 9kt - 14kt - 18kt - 21kt - 24kt, where 24kt is pure gold.
For example, 14 karats means that 14 parts out of 24 parts are pure gold (Au), while the remaining 10 parts will be another metal, most often silver and copper.
How are the different carats alloyed?
To create the different carats, an alloying material is usually used, either purchased pre-mixed or by adding silver and copper yourself, depending on what color you want the finished product to be.
The more copper that is added, the redder the color becomes, and the more silver that is added, the color becomes slightly greener, and all of this is a matter of taste.
Karat is measured based on the mass/weight of the different metals that are included in the finished product.
To alloy gold, you need to know the density of your materials:
- Pure gold density: 19.3 grams/cm³
- Fine silver density: 10.5 grams/cm³
- Copper density: 8.96 grams/cm³
With a little quick mental math and common sense, one can quickly figure out that it's a bit of a cheat when it comes to carats.
Normally, one might think that when it comes to 14kt, for instance, one would have a small handful of pure gold in one hand and a small handful of alloying materials in the other, and that the two piles would be of equal size.
But unfortunately, that's not the case, as it is calculated based on volume, which means:
That in terms of volume, there is about double the amount of alloying material in 14kt gold compared to pure gold. So you are left with a rather small handful of pure gold and a pile of alloying material that is twice as large.
Karat Stamps for Gold?
- 8 karat = 8kt / 333
- 9 karat = 9kt / 375
- 14 karat = 14kt / 585
- 21 karat = 21kt / 875
- 22 karat = 22kt / 917
- 24 karat = 24kt / 999
If there is not a karat stamp on your gold jewelry, but rather two name stamps, it is made of 8kt / 333, as it used to be stamped that way in the past.
Gold jewelry in Denmark is usually stamped with the karat and the goldsmith's initials.
Our stamp is NBR.
If you are unsure who has produced or marketed your jewelry, you can look up the stamp on the following page to learn more:
https://aedelmetalkontrollen.dk/stempler/navnestempelregistret/