One of the most used materials in the world of fine jewellery is gold. It is one of the most distinguished precious-metals that exist with such a high corrosion resistance. At Ramon we work exclusively with 18kt gold to forge our fine jewellery pieces. Today we want to explain to you the types of gold in existence according to colour and carats.
Types of gold according to colour
Gold is a soft, shiny and malleable metal that when obtained in nature has a yellowish tone. But yellow gold is not the only type of gold, as you know in the world of fine jewellery it is common to see jewellery made in white gold and rose gold. These three types of gold have the same composition and the same qualities, their change in colour is merely due to the combination of gold with other metals.
- Yellow gold: is gold in its natural state. To get 18kt gold, the natural gold is mixed with fine silver and copper.
- White gold: obtained by alloying it with palladium
- Rose gold: is obtained from a combination of gold, copper and silver.
Types of gold according to carats
The purity of gold is measured in carats, as this number increases, so does the value of the gold. We found 5 types:
- 10 carat gold: gold of the lowest purity. It contains only 40% pure gold. It has 10 parts gold to 12 parts of other metals.
- 12 carat gold: has 50% purity; 12 parts of pure gold to 12 parts of other metals.
- 14 carat gold: its purity level is 60% and consists of 14 parts of pure gold to 10 parts of other metals. Also known as “low gold”
- 18 carat gold: known as high gold. It contains 18 parts of gold to 6 parts of other metals. This gold reaches 75% purity, thus making it the type of gold more commonly used in fine jewelry.
- 24 karat gold: pure gold. Contains 99.9% purity. The infamous gold bullions are usually 24 carat.