| Gold, silver and platinum are three of the most popular | | | | piece. |
| precious metals used today in jewelry, but most | | | | Silver |
| people don't know how to judge the quality of the | | | | Silver is stronger than gold, and so silver jewelry is |
| pieces they look at. Fortunately, each type of jewelry | | | | typically made with a high level of purity. The most |
| has a set of symbols that reveals its purity. | | | | common mark is.925, which designates the piece as |
| Gold | | | | sterling silver with 92.5% purity. Other marks you might |
| Since gold is a soft metal, it is usually mixed with other | | | | see include.800,.813 and.999. |
| metals to produce an alloy. On American-made gold | | | | Vintage English silver jewelry may have a stamp of a |
| jewelry, look for a mark such as 10K, 14K or 18K. On | | | | walking lion to indicate.925 sterling. |
| European-made gold jewelry, look for a decimal, | | | | Platinum |
| like.585,.750 or something similar. here's what they | | | | Like silver, platinum is a strong metal and platinum |
| indicate: | | | | jewelry usually has a very high purity level. Any piece |
| - 10K or.417 is 10 karat or 42% pure gold. | | | | that is at least 95 percent pure can be marked simply |
| - 14K or.585 is 14 karat or 58% pure gold. | | | | as "platinum" or "950 Platinum". |
| - 18K or.750 is 18 karat or 75% pure gold. | | | | Jewelry that is slightly less pure can be marked with |
| - 24K or.999 is 24 karat or 100% pure gold. | | | | the content followed by "Plat." or "Pt.", as in "850Pt" or |
| You might also find the following marks on gold | | | | "900Plat". |
| jewelry: | | | | Jewelry that has at least 50% platinum content and at |
| - HGE (Heavy Gold Electroplate) indicates gold-plated | | | | least 95% "platinum group metal" (platinum, iridium, |
| jewelry. | | | | palladium, ruthenium, rhodium, or osmium) content can |
| - 1/8 18kGF, or a similar mark, would indicate gold-filled | | | | be marked as platinum jewelry, as long as the |
| jewelry. In this example, the gold layer is 18 karat and | | | | percentage of each metal is disclosed. For example: |
| makes up 1/8 of the total weight of the metal in the | | | | "700Pt. 150Pall. 100Irid." would be a valid marking. |