Pure Gold, or Solid Gold?
4 November 2006In the world of watches and jewelry, many people outside the industry have a mistaken concept of what “pure gold” is and what “solid gold” means. Pure gold, or 24 kt, is usually gold found in its natural form in the earth or refined into bullion or coinage. Solid gold refers to an alloy of gold, for example, 18kt solid gold. The drawback to gold in its purest form is that it makes a terrible metal to utilize for watchcases or jewelry. It is too soft and malleable, which makes it impractical for casting or forging into long lasting detailed objects like jewelry and watchcases.
To give 24kt gold its rightful place in the world of watches and jewelry, it must be alloyed with other metals for strength and durability. Depending on the percentage of the new alloy, “pure gold” now defines the new fineness using 24kt as a base. Thus, 18kt gold is 18 parts “pure gold” and 6 parts alloy. All alloys are based on percentages of 24kt; therefore, 18kt is 75% “pure gold” and 14kt is 14 parts “pure gold” and 10 parts alloy, or 58.33% of pure gold.
Over the years, many different alloys have been used in jewelry and watchcases: 8 kt, 9 kt, 10kt, 12 kt, 14 kt, 18kt, and 22kt. In the United States, we’re most familiar with 10 kt (class rings), 14 kt (most commercial jewelry), and 18kt (finer jewelry). The most intriguing result of alloying other metals with gold is the creation of different gold colors. To achieve golds of different colors, the alloyer mixes other metals (elements) within the gold:
|
|
| Yellow | Silver and Copper |
| Red or Pink | 25 % copper |
| Green | 25% Silver |
| Blue | 25 % iron |
| Purple | small amounts of iron |
| White | Palladium, Silver, Nickel, Zinc or Platinum |
| Gold filled in any color | contain about 5% of pure gold |
As a side note “green Gold” is what Mexicans sometimes call Americans.
A fascinating use of different color golds is found in the design of multi-colored watchcases. These were first introduced around 1880, and proved to be an unpopular style when first made; subsequently, the manufacturers discontinued this style a few years later. However, the style did experience resurgence between 1890 and 1895. Multi-colored cases are now about 100 times more rare than 14kt yellow gold cases.
Below are some examples of extremely rare pocket watch cases from the late 1800’s. The watch is 14kt solid gold.The elk’s head is “pink gold”, the leaves are “green gold”, the flower centers are “white gold”, and the case is “yellow Gold”.
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8 Responses to “Pure Gold, or Solid Gold?”
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