Although it is very strong, gold is the most malleable of all metals. Pure gold is too soft to withstand the stresses of everyday wear, so it is combined with different alloys to give it strength and durability. These alloys include metals like silver, copper, nickel, and zinc.
Gold is so soft, in fact, that one gram of it can be beaten into a sheet covering nearly a square metre. Such sheets are used in the process of 'gilding'. Read more: What colour metal would a gold and silver mix be?
Pure gold's delicate nature makes it easy to scratch and dent; as a result, pieces may easily bend or break. Therefore, other metals are often used in place of pure gold when making jewelry items that require durability.
Gold is a precious metal, which means it's very malleable and soft in its purest form. As such, delicate pieces of jewelry made from 22K gold won't be able to withstand the everyday wear and tear that comes with normal activities like cleaning around the house or working out.
According to the Mohs scale, in order from softest to hardest, are sterling silver, 18ct gold, 9ct gold, platinum then palladium. There is also malleability to bear in mind, which will affect how much a ring can be misshapen and squashed with wear.
Look for Stamps or Hallmarks in Your Gold Jewelry
Most real gold is stamped with a hallmark that indicates its purity, aka its karat. The karat is the unit used to measure the purity of gold. The higher the karat, the purer the gold. The most common karats you'll see are 10k, 14k, 18k, 22K, and 24k.
The weight of Gold is brought about by its high density. Each atom of gold is very heavy on its own, making the element heavy too. Unlike other elements that are as heavy as tungsten, gold's atoms are not so bonded to each other making it less brittle and easily shifted and shaped when working on it.
Pure gold is very soft and not suitable for everyday wear. It is the most malleable and ductile of all elements, so it is easily bent, scratched, and reshaped.
What to do: Hold the magnet up to the gold. If it's real gold it will not stick to the magnet. (Fun fact: Real gold is not magnetic.) Fake gold, on the other hand, will stick to the magnet.
In their pure forms, gold and silver happen to be very soft metals—soft enough that you should be able to mark them with your teeth. According to the Mohs hardness scale—which relates pairs of materials according to which one will scratch the other first—gold scores a 2.5 and silver, which is harder, a 2.7.
Chlorine is gold's worst enemy: with repeated exposure, chlorine will weaken your gold jewelry's structure and eventually lead to it breaking. Make sure to take your jewelry off before getting in a pool or spa. Cover or remove while cleaning: household cleaners with acids or abrasives will damage your jewelry's finish.
Gold is very tough, and will only break along a solder line, a place where the width is very thin, or a defective area of pitting (tiny air bubbles from a poor quality fabrication). Sadly, the very quality which makes gold submit to our design processes, also makes it subject to wearing down over the years.
Since gold is relatively malleable, 24k gold is rarely used for jewelry that you might wear every day, like a wedding or engagement ring, since it's likely it would become misshapen. Adding an alloy like copper, iron, silver, zinc, or nickel makes it more affordable and much more durable and suitable for daily wear.
Although it is very strong, gold is the most malleable of all metals. Pure gold is too soft to withstand the stresses of everyday wear, so it is combined with different alloys to give it strength and durability. These alloys include metals like silver, copper, nickel, and zinc.
You can also fill a cup or glass with white vinegar, and drop your gold in it, let it soak for 5-8 minutes, take it out and rinse with water. If the metal has changed its color even slightly, then the gold is not pure but if it keeps shining, then the gold is pure.
A fingernail rests at the 2.5 hardness range, approximately the same hardness as gold and silver. A diamond rests at 10 on the scale. Without alloy on the MOH scale, gold, silver and zinc are at 2.5; copper is 3; nickel 4; platinum 4; steel 4.5; palladium 5, rhodium is 6, and iridium and ruthenium are 6.5.
Acid test.
An acid test can reveal the karat of solid gold jewelry, but it can also show whether jewelry is solid gold or gold-plated. With an acid test, a small sample of the jewelry is removed and exposed to acid to induce a color change. The resulting colors indicate which type of metal the jewelry is made of.
Pure gold on its own cannot stick to a magnet. However, if you have an alloy of gold, then it could stick to a magnet. An example of a gold alloy that may stick to a magnet is gold with over 20% of its atoms replaced by iron. In very cold temperatures this alloy of gold may magnetize all on its own.
24-karat gold is 100% gold and does not contain any other metal mixed with it. Because of its excellent purity and a distinct bright yellow color, 24-karat gold is more expensive than 22 or 18-karat gold.
Metals like Gold and Iron are hard and dense . They are malleable and ductile. They are very tough and it's nearly impossible to be cut with a knife. Proper machines and techniques are used to cut such metals.
Pure gold is incredibly durable. It's the most non-reactive of all metals: it won't react with oxygen or most chemicals, meaning it won't tarnish, rust or perish.
Step 4: Feel By Weight
Fake gold feels lighter than real gold and that is because gold is heavier than almost all other metals. This is not the most reliable test, but if the gold item feels practically weightless then that is one indication that the item is fake.
Fake gold pieces may have a heavier weight but also be too large for the weight to match the weight of real gold. Check the diameter and thickness of any gold coins you're considering buying. The specifications for collectible coins can be found in numismatic guides or online.
The Size and Weight Test
Gold is denser than most other metals. If you have a piece that looks too large for its weight or feels too light for its size, then you probably have fake gold. Bullion coins are actual coins made from precious metals, including gold, silver, palladium, or platinum.