Post updated: May 28, 2020
If you ask what colors gold comes in, many will answer: white or yellow, because the ratio of 585 yellow gold in jewelry is the highest.
Some will remember seeing a gold bracelet in red, pink and green shades. The most unexpected thing will be to find out that jewelry made of black gold is and is available! When choosing gold, you should remember that the higher its purity, the softer the metal becomes. However, it is worth noting that, as a rule, white gold is stronger than yellow gold.
Modern technologies make it possible to “paint” gold in the most unexpected colors.
White and yellow gold
Any gold from jewelry products is an alloy of metals. Fineness is the amount of gold, silver, platinum or palladium in a master alloy, which is a derivative for the manufacture of jewelry. In Russia, jewelry is assigned the following hallmarks: 375, 500, 583, 585, 750 and 958. 585 yellow gold is an alloy with other components in proportions of 585 to 415.
Thus, if you take one kilogram of 585-carat gold, it will contain 585 grams of pure gold, and the rest is alloy (admixture of other metals). The content of 58.5% gold in the product is 585th purity, 75% is 750th purity. The higher the percentage of gold contained in the alloy, the higher its purity and price will be. The purest gold is considered to be pure gold, containing 90 percent of gold itself; it has 900 or higher purity.
Gold color chart.
But at the same time, the sample does not answer the question of how “jewelry” of the same sample can have different colors. So, 585 gold can be red, but it can also be 750 gold. The color of jewelry gold can range from red to green, depending on the impurities it contains. Zinc, silver and palladium give gold a white and yellow-green tint, and copper can “paint” the metal orange and red.
Alloy colors
Depending on the impurities, the finished mixture may give a different shade. Jewelers specially adjust the color of the product, changing the number of compositions. In addition to the popular yellow and white, it is possible to produce red, black, green, gray or purple. But you should be wary of buying uncommon colors, so popular models are most often found. Their composition varies quite a lot:
Chervonoye
Red gold has increased flexibility and can be easily deformed; for this reason, it is not actually used in the jewelry industry.
In pre-revolutionary Russia, rings were made from red gold. They were quite thick and weighed more than eight grams, which compensated for the fragility of the metal. Nowadays, wedding rings weigh about two grams and are 2-3 millimeters wide; the width itself depends on the production technology.
How many carats are in a sample?
The alloy rating system in Russia is metric, i.e. the number written in the frame indicates the proportion of gold in the product. Europe and America use a multiple system for this. The purest precious metal has a value of 24. This means that the jewelry contains 14 parts of gold and 10 parts of impurities. In terms of numerical correspondence, this is equal to approximately 585 samples. Compliance table:
Yellow gold
It has a very real and familiar color - bright, sunny, yellowish, to put it simply - gold as it is and as we are used to. Actually, it is for this that gold has been valued since ancient times, and has also earned a reputation as a jewel, a symbol of wealth and power. In Western countries, golden yellow is often used in wedding rings. There is a popular belief that yellow gold is a symbol of warmth and love between spouses. Yellow gold is mostly 750 fine. Much less often it is presented in 585 yellow gold.
You can turn yellow gold into white by putting the jewelry in rhodium, this technology is called rhodium plating.
You can see the 585 yellow gold in the photo below:
Yellow gold is the classic and most common color option for jewelry.
A little history
Yellow gold is rightly called a timeless classic. This color has always served as a symbol of power, wealth, stability and prosperity. Metal was used in the manufacture of ritual objects, symbols of distinction and membership in a particular group or caste. In Indian tribes and Viking sites, in the tombs of Egypt and in Scythian burial mounds, products from masters of bygone times are still found.
It is also noteworthy that in the Middle Ages they managed to falsify sun-colored gold alloys. After the “witchcraft” of alchemists at the courts of monarchs, the amount of gold in the state’s coins decreased by no less than 2 times. The precious metal was replaced with an alloy of gold with the addition of copper and silver, and the ruler’s treasury increased as a result of such manipulations. At that time, experts simply could not accurately distinguish a fake from an original.
Black gold
In order for the alloy to acquire a black color, the following technological methods are performed.
The top layer of the product is coated with black rhodium or ruthenium is electroplated; the color can range from gray to black.
The surface of a gold item is covered with a layer of amorphous carbon. Most often, this technology is used for the manufacture of gold watch cases.
Another way to obtain the black color of gold is an alloy containing cobalt in a ratio of 10 percent and 15% chromium, with an oxidation procedure at a temperature of 700-900 degrees Celsius.
Advantages and disadvantages
Advantages:
- High durability for the jewelry world;
- Relatively low price for high sample media;
- The degree of density allows you to make different patterns;
- Changing the composition of impurities allows you to play with shades.
The 585 stamp also has quite a few disadvantages. Due to the high alloy content. Scratches may appear on their surface, and this is typical for all gold jewelry.
White gold
Gold alloys have a white color due to the addition of palladium, acquiring increased brightness and shine. Nowadays, white gold is a fashionable material, often used in the fashion industry among jewelry aficionados. Products made of white gold have a prestigious status and reflect the belonging of its owner to the highest class. Outwardly, it is as similar as possible to platinum, but costs almost half as much.
White gold ring.
Brand
This is the surest way to determine the quality of a product. Firstly, it confirms that the product is truly precious and not a fake. Secondly, it indicates its variety. In the Russian Federation, a mark for decoration is placed in the form of a woman’s profile, and a number corresponding to the alloy is pressed near it.
Products from the Soviet Union depict a hammer and sickle inside a large star. And the number indicating quality will be 583.
Caring for your jewelry
To ensure that red gold products do not lose their attractive appearance, they need to be looked after. Otherwise, they will darken and tarnish due to the high copper content. Maintenance is simple: you need to wash them often in warm soapy water. Do not clean jewelry with a brush, as this may scratch it. Tooth powder is also not suitable for cleaning - it can damage the surface of the products.
Jewelry can be refreshed using a sweet solution. To prepare it, dissolve 3 teaspoons of sugar in one glass of water and place the product there overnight. By morning it will clear and acquire a bright shine.
Products made from red alloy are usually decorated with stones. If dirt gets between them, it is better not to risk it and not try to clean them yourself. The workshop will do this quickly and without damage to the decoration.
Where to buy and sell
The safest way to buy gold is through a jewelry store. All finished products have certification and their own passport. But you can buy jewelry without documents in many places:
- in the Internet;
- in a pawnshop;
- in private advertisements;
- On the market.
In all these cases, there is no guarantee of the originality of the product, and it is quite possible that it has a hidden defect that will only be revealed in a couple of days. But you can get good jewelry by paying much less for it than in a jewelry store.
How much does 1 gram of gold of this standard cost today?
The Central Bank of the Russian Federation changes the gold rate in the same way as currency rates. And the final cost of jewelry depends on this. Let's look at today's prices:
Recommendations for care, cleaning and storage
To maintain its presentation, jewelry requires care and cleaning. If the necessary standards are observed, it will last for many years.
- Finished products are stored in special bags or separate cases. It is better to store chains in an extended state.
- Wash your jewelry with warm water and soap from time to time. Do not rub them with brushes or put them in chemical mixtures.
- To return the original color, there is a special paste that can be bought in jewelry stores. If in doubt, you can take the product for professional cleaning.
- When swimming, physical work, or playing sports, it is better to remove jewelry.
How to distinguish from a fake at home
There are several ways to check the authenticity of a gold item at home. The very first, and quite funny way can be seen in many films. The testing tactic is called “On the tooth.” Indeed, if you press your teeth on a gold item, real gold will leave a dent, which fakes will not do. However, this tactic is not always correct, since the gold product may contain lead impurities, and it is also quite soft.
For the second method you will need a ceramic product; it is always present in the kitchen. All you need to do to check is to apply light pressure and run the gold piece along the edge of the pottery. In this case, the gold product will leave a yellow stripe, and the fake will simply draw a black line.
Tips for choosing gold jewelry
- Ask for a product passport and inquire about certification.
- Carefully inspect the product externally - there should be no traces of polishing or hiding scratches. There should be no flimsy places, stones and links should be held tightly.
- Don't buy jewelry for the sake of "investing in gold." Firstly, this is a very unstable unit, and secondly, in this case it is better to open a metal account in a bank.
- Trust only papers with stamps, do not fall for folk methods of identifying real gold. Even an experienced jeweler cannot always determine which is a fake and which is the original.
