Gold
Everything about gold: karats, colors, alloys, history, care and buying.
22 entries
Buying guides
14 karat or 18 karat gold: differences and which to choose
Differences between 14 and 18 karat gold: purity (58.5% and 75%), color, hardness, price and which suits rings, wedding bands and daily wear.
Jewelry around the world
Akan (Ashanti) gold and goldweights
Gold is a symbol of royalty and life for the Akan of Ghana: royal jewelry, lost-wax brass goldweights and Adinkra symbols.
Buying guides
Can you mix gold and silver? How to combine jewelry
Yes, gold and silver can be combined. Tips for mixing metals, rings, necklaces and earrings, and what to avoid so the whole looks balanced.
Buying guides
Carat of gems and karats of gold: not the same thing
Carat measures the weight of gems, 0.2 grams; karats of gold measure its purity out of 24 parts. Explanation and chart.
Techniques
Care and cleaning of gold
How to clean gold jewelry? General tips for the care and cleaning of gold jewelry.
Techniques
Electroplating: gold, silver and rhodium baths
Electroplating coats a piece with a thin layer of another metal by electrolysis: gold, silver and rhodium baths; steps, thicknesses and care.
Techniques
Gilding: fire, leaf and electrogilding
Ways to gild a metal: fire gilding with mercury (historic and toxic), gold leaf, electrogilding and depletion gilding.
Materials
Gold
Gold is a precious metal widely used in jewelry due to its beauty, rarity, and durability.
Materials
Gold as an investment
Investing in gold jewelry can be an interesting option for some people because of the stability and lasting value of gold as a precious metal.
Materials
Gold as currency
The use of gold as money spread across different cultures and civilizations, such as the Romans, the Greeks and the Persians.
Jewelry and everyday life
Gold or silver: why some people prefer gold and others silver
Why some people lean toward gold and others toward silver: color, culture, budget, skin, style and habit. And why you do not have to choose.
Buying guides
Gold plated, gold filled, vermeil and solid gold: differences
Differences between solid gold, vermeil, gold filled and gold plated: gold layer, durability, price and which to choose for everyday wear.
Materials
Gold-filled
Gold-filled is a base metal covered with a thick layer of gold bonded by heat and pressure; more durable than gold plating and much cheaper than solid gold.
Techniques
Granulation: tiny spheres of gold
Granulation fixes tiny metal spheres onto a surface without visible solder; a technique of the Etruscans that demands precision and patience.
Materials
History of gold
History of gold in jewelry and the economy: Varna, Egypt, Lydia, the conquest of the Americas, the gold rush and today. Timeline and questions.
Jewelry care and maintenance
How to clean gold jewelry at home
Clean yellow, white and rose gold at home with lukewarm water and mild soap, and care differently for gold-plated, gold-filled and rhodium-plated white gold.
Jewelry care and maintenance
How to clean silver, gold and steel chains
How to clean silver, gold and stainless steel chains without tangling or scratching them, and how to restore the shine of the links.
Buying guides
How to tell if gold is real
How to check whether a gold piece is genuine: stamp, magnet, color, wear and professional acid or XRF testing; which home tests are unreliable.
Techniques
Keum-boo: gold foil on silver
Keum-boo, a Korean technique, joins 24-karat gold foil to fine silver with heat and pressure, without solder, for a gold-on-silver finish.
Jewelry around the world
Mesoamerican jewelry: jade, gold and feathers
Maya, Aztec and other Mesoamerican peoples valued jade more than gold, and combined it with feathers, obsidian and shell.
Jewelry around the world
Pre-Columbian gold of Colombia
The Muisca, Quimbaya and Tairona worked gold in Colombia with lost-wax casting: tunjos, poporos and offerings of sacred value.
Materials
Why is gold yellow? White, rose and green gold
Pure gold is yellow; white, rose and green gold are alloys. Why gold does not tarnish, how each color is made and what each contains.