Gold Jewelry - Know What You're Getting Before Purchasing Gold Jewelry

Everyone has shopped for gold jewelry at some point in their lives. Depending on where you shop, you may have been bombarded with a variety of decisions; yellow, white, green, rose, gold-filled, gold-plated, vermeil, 10 kt, 14 kt, 18 kt, and on and on. Most of us have wondered what the difference is in all these gold choices.

Gold Filled is cheaper in price because it is not solid. Most jewelry items involve a base metal, usually brass, that is coated with a thin layer of real gold. It is mostly used in cheaper jewelry items, unfortunately it is often used in Children's and Baby jewelry because it is less expensive. The majority of people do not want to spend top dollar for a bracelet that a baby or child will only wear a few times before out-growing or losing. This can be extremely dangerous, however, due to the inclusion of cheap base metal ingredients such as lead, that are often used in jewelry items to cut costs. Buyer Beware. Although this type of jewelry is fine for adults, be careful when buying for Children twelve and under.

Gold-Plate and Electroplating is exactly how it sounds. A very thin plate, or layer of gold is usually electroplated onto a base-metal object. The plating is very thin and will likely wear off completely after worn for a period of time. This is the type of jewelry that usually turns your skin green. Needless to say, you are usually wasting your money by buying jewelry of this type. In addition, the base-metal is usually suspect for inclusion of lead.

On to the question of karats. Pure gold is 24 karats, but since it is very soft and malleable, 18kt, 14kt, and 10kt is most commonly used for jewelry. 10 karats consists of ten parts gold and fourteen parts of a metal alloy, usually brass. 14 karats is fourteen parts pure (58%) and ten parts alloy, and 18 karat is eighteen parts pure (75%) and six parts metal alloy. The higher the number of karats, the softer, and more pure the gold is.

Gold also is available in a rainbow of colors to choose from. White-Gold occurs when either zinc, silver, or nickel is added to pure gold. Green-Gold is yellowish with a subtle hint of green, and happens when pure gold and pure silver are combined. Rose-gold is pink or red in color, and is caused by the addition of pure copper. The more copper is added, the pinker, or redder it is. Rose-gold is also known as Vermeil, pronounced 'ver-may'.

Now that you know the difference between the terms commonly referred to when shopping for gold jewelry, you will be able to better assess the cost for the item. Beware when shopping for Baby Jewelry [http://www.bebeclaire.com/jewelry/pc/Baby-Jewelry-c47.htm] or Children Jewelry, due to the common practice of disreputable manufacturers adding lead to the base metals in gold-filled and gold-plated jewelry. The time taken in selecting and saving for a quality piece of gold jewelry is time and money well spent.