Gold Karat Content

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What is meant by “karat content”?

Pure gold is designated as “24 karat”. This means there are 24 parts gold out of a possible 24 parts (100%). Gold jewelry usually is mixed with other metals, called alloys, which lowers the actual gold content in the piece and makes it harder. You will normally see a marking on the item somewhere which indicates the amount of gold in the piece, such as 10k, 14k or 18k. The jewelry could also be marked with a number, such as 417, 585, or 750. Read more