Gold Jewelry Station

Solid gold. That’s what 14 k gold is. It is solid. It holds its shape. Pure gold is 24 karats, but pure gold is not solid enough to make products that will hold their shape. Many affordable gold items require a mixture of gold and some other metal. This produces items that are between 1 and 22 karats.

Gold has been in use for almost 5,000 years. It is first mentioned in Egypt about 2600 B.C. The term carat (Karat ) is derived from the Greek term Keraton, meaning ‘from the Carob’. Carob seeds were initially used in precision scales because carob seeds were thought to be of uniform weight. This has since been debunked, but the term carat still endures. In the mid 16th Century, the karat became the official designation for the purity of gold. One karat was accepted as 1/24 of a golden solidus of Constantine. It is roughly equal to the Roman siliqua.

In the United States and Northern Europe, gold products contain between 8 and 18 karats. Gold is commonly mixed with silver or copper. Fourteen karat gold contains about 59% by content, but 70 to 80 percent by weight because gold is very dense. Fourteen karat gold when it is mixed with copper appears reddish. If you mix 14 karat gold with silver, it appears yellowish. Copper blends are the most popular.

Copper mixed with 14 karat gold is used to make the badges used by police, sheriffs and other law enforcement agencies. Affordable jewelry is commonly made with 14 karat gold because it is predominantly gold, but can be formed into a variety of shapes and sizes.

Gold is the most malleable, ductile and valuable metal. For centuries it has been used to signify love, power, strength, wealth, perfection and the sun. It has also been used for health purposes. The condition of the gold a person wears is often a signal of the state of their health. If the gold jewelry is dull or cloudy, it is thought to signify that the person is ill. The metal does not have to be pure to be used as a barometer of health; 14 karat gold can be just as effective as 24 karat gold.  Gold is one of the most important mediums of exchange this planet has ever known. Whether 14, 18, or 24 karats, gold is almost indispensible to our daily life.