Features of the highest standard of gold
When buying gold jewelry, many seek to acquire the highest standard item, but is this justified? What is it, the highest standard of gold used in jewelry? Our article will help answer these questions, tell you about the advantages and disadvantages of gold items with different contents of this noble metal, and also give recommendations on how to choose a high-quality gold jewelry that will delight its owners for many years.
Main characteristics
In Russia, as well as in the CIS countries and Europe, all gold items must undergo a probing procedure - that is, applying a special stamp indicating the content of pure precious metal in ppm. The highest sample contains 999.9 ppm or 99.9%.
This grade of gold is also called "four nines", this number tells us that we have an almost 100% pure metal: 1 kg of an ingot contains 999.9 g and only 0.1 g is impurities.
The main property This precious metal has amazing malleability and ductility, due to which it can be rolled into foil or drawn into thin wires.
It is not for nothing that gold is called a noble metal: it does not react with other chemical substances, so it does not lose its luxurious appearance for a long time.
In order to increase the strength of the jewelry, as well as to reduce its weight, and to make the price more affordable, Master jewelers add alloying substances to the alloy - copper, silver, as well as platinum, palladium, zinc or nickel. In this case, the percentage of pure gold in such an alloy decreases, respectively, the price of the product decreases, but its strength and wear resistance increase significantly.
The alloy in which the content of the noble metal is reduced by the addition of ligatures has a lower fineness. The following metric gold grades currently exist: 958, 750, 585, 500 and 375.
The USA, Canada and Switzerland use carat system determining the amount of precious metal in the alloy, where 1/24 of its total mass is taken as the basis. Accordingly, the highest sample in metric system, which is equal to 999.9 ppm, corresponds to 24 carats, 958 fineness corresponds to 23 carats, 750 - 18, 585 - 14, 500 - 12, 375 - 9.
From all that has been said, it becomes clear that "Four nines" are practically not used in jewelry. Such jewelry is too short-lived, expensive, and also overweight. For making jewelry, craftsmen prefer to take metal 750 and below, moreover, the optimal ratio of parameters price - quality possesses gold 585.
Nevertheless, this quality standard is rightfully considered 750 gold - and it is no coincidence. It contains 75% of this precious metal, and to increase the strength of the jewelry, craftsmen add silver, copper, as well as palladium and nickel.
Thanks to such additives, the gold alloy gets different shades.
Experienced craftsmen prefer to use 750-carat precious metal to create real masterpieces of jewelry art. Such gold items have a truly noble appearance. This alloy retains sufficient softness and ductility inherent in real native gold; from it you can forge complex openwork products, decorated with fine carvings or airy ornaments.
At the same time, thanks to alloying components, such jewelry is much stronger than pure metal products; they can be worn without fear of causing irreparable harm to jewelry.
Advantages and disadvantages
The advantage of a precious metal of the highest standard, which is used by jewelers in the manufacture of jewelry, are primarily its noble warm luster and rich, rich color. Such a piece of jewelry will emphasize the status of its owner, giving it an image of elegance and sophistication. Gold earrings, rings and necklaces, as well as watches decorated with diamonds, sapphires, pearls, other precious or semi-precious stones, will never lose their beauty and will not go out of fashion.
This is an excellent investment, because gold, unlike any currency, does not fall in price.
Due to its property not to enter into chemical reactions with other substances, this noble metal does not oxidize in air and water, it can be worn practically without taking off.
Another thing - tendency to mechanical damage and deformation. Due to the inherent softness of high-grade gold, including 750, which is widely used in jewelry, with frequent use of such jewelry, they can become scratched and lose their original shine.
750 gold alloy easy to process, such items are often covered with jewelry enamel.
These are very expensive jewelry, which only quite wealthy people can afford to wear.
Where is it used?
Gold "four nines" is rarely used by jewelers to make jewelry in our country. Also, this type of precious metal is not very popular in America and Europe. But in the countries of the East, people prefer to buy gold items of 24 carats, which exactly corresponds to our 999 standard. However, it is not known how authentic such jewelry is.
In our country, the "four nines" test is used for the manufacture of ingots, which are stored in the Central Bank of Russia and are the gold reserves of our country.
This variety is rarely seen on the shelves of jewelry stores; it can be purchased in the form of gold coins, in which it is convenient to invest your funds. However, it should be borne in mind that such investments will not pay off soon.
Precious metal of the highest standard goes for making gold foil, with which the heads of churches are covered to protect the roof from adverse environmental conditions - after all, gold is not subject to oxidation and does not rust.
Art workshops use alloys 950, from such materials various jewelry and art objects are made. This coating is often applied in the form of gilding to objects of art and architecture, as well as common household devices such as telephones.
Gold of 750 and 585 assay value is used for jewelry making and is in the highest demand.
Price
The price of gold items depends on what percentage of pure precious metal is included in their composition, as well as on the quality of the alloy components. When added to palladium or platinum alloy the price of the product increases significantly, when replacing part of the gold with copper or nickel - becomes lower. Recently, some countries have banned the use of nickel as an alloying substance due to its increased allergenic properties.
The price for 1 gram of the precious metal is set by the Central Bank of the Russian Federation. Today this figure is significantly higher than a few years ago.
A gram of 750-carat gold costs over 3000 rubles, its price is determined by the manufacturer.
How to choose products?
When choosing jewelry, you should pay attention to the presence of a sample, which is usually applied to the inside of a ring, the clasp of an earring, or the case of a watch. The sample must be clear; in order to evaluate its quality, you need to ask the seller for a magnifying glass or bring it with you. On modern Russian gold jewelry, the imprint is made in the form of a woman's head in a kokoshnik; right there you can see the numbers that correspond to the amount of pure precious metal per mil.
When buying gold jewelry avoid fakes, buy a thing in jewelry stores and from trusted sellers, giving preference to well-known brands. In no case should you buy gold products from your hands, especially during your tourist trips abroad.
Gold of the highest standard has great softness, earlier, the authenticity of gold coins was checked "by a tooth": a trace remained on the surface of a gold item.
To check the quality of the jewelry, you can bring it to a magnet: real gold is not magnetized, so it will not be attracted.
At home, you can check the authenticity of gold jewelry by dipping it in acetic acid solution... A quality product will not change its color.
How does a 999-carat gold bar look like - see the video below.
