Many people have misconceptions about gold and its purity.

Many times they may have gone to a jeweller or asked a friend, or gotten advice somewhere, and have been told that basically, the lower the carats, the stronger the gold.

Supposedly, this is because the lower carat gold, like 10 carats for instance, would have more “added” metals that make it stronger and more resilient. This in turn makes one believe that the 10 carat or 14 carat gold ring that one buys will wear better than the 18 carat ring displayed beside it.

At least it seems to be the natural conclusion.

For instance, if your 10 carat gold ring is reinforced with nickel or some other less expensive but stronger metal, it only makes sense that it will be stronger and last longer.

However, there are many things wrong with this line of thought. Often, people wear a gold ring with the standard 10 carat gold content, and their finger turns black under the ring. Apparently, that’s not from the gold, it’s from the nickel. Also, there are people who have allergic reactions to some metals, but gold allergies are seldom if ever a problem. In most cases, it’s the metals that are “added” to the gold that cause the allergic reaction.

On the other hand, it’s easy to understand why people have come to believe that 18 carat gold for instance, would be way too soft.

Especially when you read things like, “if you took a 3 inch square of pure gold and hammered it as flat and thin as possible, it would cover an acre of land.”

It is just that malleable. Malleable enough to scare people off from the 18 carat jewellery.

It seems that the jewellery consumer might do better by looking more closely at gold in the 14 carat range. It may be more costly than the 10 carat variety, but at least it might do away with the black staining from all that nickel.

Many people are not quite ready to accept the concept that 18 carat gold is as strong, or stronger than the 14 carat variety.

Consumers believe it’s more of a ploy to encourage them to purchase the most expensive option. Besides, it’s easy to envision an 18 carat gold ring becoming an oval shape as soon as it encounters any pressure.

However, jewellery buyers are becoming more discerning and many are beginning to accept that 14 carat is a step up from 10 carat and that seems to be an excellent first step in improving the quality of gold they choose to wear.

Gold Diamond Solitaire

Metals Science
gold, jewellery, nickel, silver