Gold is one of the world's most precious metals and is the oldest known to humankind. Due to gold's magnificent properties and wonderful luster, it is considered to be the most important metal in jewellery making.

Karat Defined

The purity of gold is measured in Karats and is now also measured in terms of fineness (i.e. European Marking). Pure gold is 24 Karats or 1000 fineness. The process of understanding what exactly a Karat is becomes rather simple when gold is thought of as an alloy (a mixture of various metals) where the karats define the percent of pure gold in the alloy. Therefore, you may determine the percentage of pure gold in any gold piece by dividing the karat by 24 (e.g. 18K gold: 18/24=0.750=75% pure gold).
The following table clarifies this:

Karat	Parts Gold to Alloy	Percent Pure Gold	Fineness (i.e. European Marking)
10K	10/24	41.67%	417
14K	14/24	58.33%	583
18K	18/24	75.00%	750
24K	24/24	99.99%	999

Nothing less than 10-karat gold can be legally marked or sold as gold jewellery in the United States. The legal requirements for minimum gold content vary widely country-by-country (e.g. 9 Karat is popular in Britain, while in France, Italy and Switzerland, 18k is the lowest permissible standard to be called gold).

The Colors of Gold

Gold alloys, aside from strengthening gold for jewellery, can also affect its color. The following table demonstrates the most common colors of gold alloys and the metals used in making them:

Color Of Gold	Additional Metals Used
Yellow Gold	Copper, Silver
White Gold	Nickel, Zinc, Copper
Green Gold	Silver, Zinc, Copper
Rose Gold	Copper, Silver

Common Gold Abbreviations

There are several different abbreviations for Karat that should be known. The following table demonstrates the most common of them:

For centuries, buying gold has been recognized as one of the best ways to preserve one's wealth and purchasing power. Gold is a unique investment, one that has served mankind well for thousands of years. From the times of ancient Egyptians, Greeks and Romans to more modern times, man has been fascinated with the beauty and magic of gold, and with its power to change men's lives.

Most gold that is fabricated today goes into the manufacture of jewellery. However, because of its superior electrical conductivity and resistance to corrosion and other desirable combinations of physical and chemical properties, gold also emerged in the late 20th century as an essential industrial metal.

Gold performs critical functions in computers, communications equipment, spacecraft, jet aircraft engines, and a host of other products. Although gold is important to industry and the arts, it also retains a unique status among all commodities as a long-term store of value.