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The beauty of gold is undeniable, but gold also possesses many other unique properties. For example, gold will neither rust nor corrode. In fact, the very first ounce of gold mined is still somewhere in existence today.
Because gold is a soft metal, it must be combined with other metals before fashioning it into jewelry. These added metals are called alloys. Most gold jewelry contains a mixture of at least two alloys. Metals used as alloys include silver, copper, nickel and zinc. Various combinations of these alloys and gold create different shades of gold. The fineness of gold is regulated by law and is the same in all parts of the world. The scale below shows the fineness in 24kt, 18kt, 14kt, and 10kt gold.
Solid Gold
24kt = 24 parts gold, no alloy 24/24 = 100% pure
18kt = 18 parts gold, 6 parts alloy 18/24 = 75%
14kt = 14 parts gold, 10 parts alloy 14/24 = 58.33%
10kt = 10 parts gold, 14 parts alloy 10/24 = 41.67%
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