In my fashion jewelry store, I offer two different types of karat platings. 14k GP & 18k GP. But what is the difference between the two...what does "gold karat" even mean?
Lets begin with what the 'karats' in gold karats actually mean. Essentially, a 'karat' is the measurement for the fineness of gold, with pure gold being 24 karats. The difference between 14k GP and 18k GP, is that one has a higher level of gold fineness than the other. So what is GP(gold plating)? Well, this is when a base metal is not made of gold, but instead is coated in gold. All that said, I guess i'll have to stop referring to my jewelry as "the really good fake stuff" because technically it's not fake. Even though it is not made of 100% gold, my jewelry is still gold plated which means that it's coated in real gold! How cool is that?!
Time to Make you Think
What is White Gold? Basically, white gold is one of the color variations of colored gold. So although most people think that white gold is it's own metal, truth is, it's not. Simply put it's not solid gold. White gold contains various amounts of real gold(meaning yellow gold), but also contains varying white metals to give it a lighter color. Even so, the purity of white gold is still measured in karats just like with yellow gold. It also makes a good alternative to those who are uninterested in yellow gold.
What Does 'Yellow' Gold Mean? Well the color 'yellow', is the natural color of actual gold. When it comes to jewelry, some say 'yellow' and some say 'gold'. But really they are talking about the same thing just in different terms.
The Many Colors of...Gold?!
Are There Other Colors of Gold Besides White Gold? Yes, actually there is! Not including yellow and white gold, there are seven other colors, maybe more, that actually contain real gold in them. But I like to keep things short and sweet, so for now we will just focus on only three of the seven colors of gold. Purple, blue and black gold.
Lets begin with what the 'karats' in gold karats actually mean. Essentially, a 'karat' is the measurement for the fineness of gold, with pure gold being 24 karats. The difference between 14k GP and 18k GP, is that one has a higher level of gold fineness than the other. So what is GP(gold plating)? Well, this is when a base metal is not made of gold, but instead is coated in gold. All that said, I guess i'll have to stop referring to my jewelry as "the really good fake stuff" because technically it's not fake. Even though it is not made of 100% gold, my jewelry is still gold plated which means that it's coated in real gold! How cool is that?!
Time to Make you Think
What is White Gold? Basically, white gold is one of the color variations of colored gold. So although most people think that white gold is it's own metal, truth is, it's not. Simply put it's not solid gold. White gold contains various amounts of real gold(meaning yellow gold), but also contains varying white metals to give it a lighter color. Even so, the purity of white gold is still measured in karats just like with yellow gold. It also makes a good alternative to those who are uninterested in yellow gold.
What Does 'Yellow' Gold Mean? Well the color 'yellow', is the natural color of actual gold. When it comes to jewelry, some say 'yellow' and some say 'gold'. But really they are talking about the same thing just in different terms.
The Many Colors of...Gold?!
Are There Other Colors of Gold Besides White Gold? Yes, actually there is! Not including yellow and white gold, there are seven other colors, maybe more, that actually contain real gold in them. But I like to keep things short and sweet, so for now we will just focus on only three of the seven colors of gold. Purple, blue and black gold.
- Purple Gold, contains 80% real gold! It's been around for ages, although in the past it's coloring tended to be uneven and inconsistent. For this reason purple gold hasn't become that much of a popular yellow gold alternative like white gold. Nowadays, even though it hasn't broke into mainstream yet, purple gold can be used to make jewelry without the risk of becoming unevenly colored, thanks to modern science.
- Blue Gold, contains 46% real gold. The color is crystal clear, but it's corrosion resistance is not so good and the structure of the crystals can be a tad brittle. So while it's pretty to look at, you might find yourself replacing it more than once. But on the upside of things, there are a few other elements that can be added to blue gold, by the pros of course, so that it's not as brittle. Such as palladium, copper, or silver.
Purple and Blue Gold Warning: Direct contact of blue and purple gold elements with skin should be avoided as exposition to sweat may result in metal leaching and discoloration of the metal surface.
- Black (or Cobalt)Gold, contains 75% of real gold & 25% cobalt. There is more than one way to produce it, and while purple, blue, and black gold are all alloys, black gold is also a copper-rich alloy. Meaning that it can be somewhat therapeutic! The process used to create it, deforms the surface of the metal which brings about nano-structures, allowing the surface areas to absorb virtually all light which gives it its color.
Now that we've discussed almost everything gold for these three, what's next? Well 1st, I really hope that you enjoyed this post. 2nd, Everyone knows that in this economy it's way more fashionable to sport bargains rather than overly expensive bling. So go to GG's Fashion Jewelry and get your technically real gold jewelry! LOL I've even given you the facts to back it up!
This post was made possible by the Official Blog of GG's Fashion Jewelry.
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