Gold

What is pure gold?

Gold is a chemical element with the symbol AU, a density of 19.3 g/cm3 and a melting point of 1,064°C. The unit of karat indicates the amount of pure gold. Gold jewelry is made of 14, 18 or 22 karat gold. Carat, however, is a unit of weight used to indicate gemstone weight and should not be confused with karat. The amount of gold is determined in parts per thousand or in karats, see comparison below:To show the amount of gold used, it is given in karats or parts per thousand.

• 14 K = 585 (583) parts per thousand
• 18 K = 750 parts per thousand
• 24 K = 1,000 parts per thousand (pure gold)

Pure gold is not hard enough to be used in jewelry, instead the most common forms are alloys of, for example, copper, silver and/or palladium. The amount of gold necessary to be considered pure gold differs from country to country. For example, the lower limit in the USA is 10 karats, in England 9 karats and in Sweden 14 karats. The jewelry sold by Lamastone can have 14 karats (58.5 percent, 585 parts per thousand) or 18 karats (75 percent, 750 parts per thousand).

• 24 karats = pure gold, too soft to be used in jewelry


• 22 karats = 91.7% gold, relatively soft, can be used, however, in some cases


• 18 karats = 75.0% gold, perfect to be used for jewelry


• 14 karats = 58.5% (58.3%) gold, perfect to be used for jewelry


• 12 karats = 50.0% gold, acceptable to be used for jewelry


• 10 karat = 41.7% gold, barely acceptable to be used for jewelry

There are manufactures who, with regard to the latest rise in gold prices, produce jewelry also at 10 and 12 karats. 18 or 14 karats are, however, the amount of gold which is most often used for manufacturing gold jewelry and only jewelry of these karats is offered at Lamastone.

Colors of gold

Gold can be found in many different colors depending on which metals the gold has been alloyed with.

White gold, palladium and rhodium plating

Many jewelers mix white gold with a lower amount of palladium than what is considered to be the perfect proportion, something which can influence the jewelry’s quality. Lamastone’s white gold jewelry consists of at least 15% palladium which guarantees the highest possible quality.

All white gold jewelry is rhodium plated. This plating gives the ring its final shine. This is important for among other things to maximize the mounted stone´s brilliance. Colorless or almost colorless diamonds go well with a rhodium plated ring of white gold. It is important to take into consideration that rhodium plating will wear out with time. It is then possible to re-plate the ring. It is a simple and cheap procedure which sometimes should be repeated every year if the plating is of low quality. Lamastone is, however, proud of its high quality plating, renowned in the trade. With normal use, the ring can be worn for a long time without being re-plated. And because we use so much palladium in our rings, they have a natural white shine. This white shine completes the rhodium plating.

Tips on how to care for your gold

Gold does not often change color, but it should of course be cleaned anyway. Gold jewelry can be cleaned easily with for example a soft toothbrush and water with a small amount of washing liquid. If you want to clean places which are harder to reach, you can go to your local jeweler and ask to have the jewelry cleaned with ultrasound. The jewelry is then placed in a bath and hit with ultrasound. It is a mild and environmentally friendly way of cleaning jewelry.