How To Determine Gold’s Authenticity By Karat or Stamps

By Chad Castellanos

The first thing that you need to do to get started with buying gold is purchase the tools listed in the beginning of this book. These tools include a strong rare earth magnet, digital jewelry scale, jewelers loupe, gold acid testing kit, and a calculator if you don’t have one on your phone. You can order this entire list at one time on Amazon and most likely receive free shipping. Once you receive your items in the mail you can follow the steps to weigh any gold item, and determine the value.

Step 1:

Run your magnet over your item. No part should be attracted to the magnet EXCEPT if you have a clasp. The clasp is most often going to attract the magnet because it needs to be a sturdier material than gold, and the spring inside the clasp is not gold. The picture below shows what it looks like when your gold item is plated and has filler material that attracts the magnet. If the magnet attracts it is not solid gold.

Step 2:

Make sure the unit is on grams. To make sure your scale is accurate, place a penny on top of the scale to make sure it weighs 2.5 grams. If it weighs in correctly, you can now weigh your item. If it does not weigh correctly, follow the instructions provided with your scale to re calibrate your scale.

If your item is larger than the scale, you can use the cover as a tray to expand the scale size. To do this you first turn on the scale, and then place the tray on the scale which will then show the weight of the tray. You then hit the “zero” button once, and it should appear as “0” weight on the display to cancel out the weight of the tray on the scale. Your item is now ready to be weighed.

Step 3:

After you finish weighing your item, you then need to find out the karat of your item which can usually be found by the stamp on the jewelry. It is either going to be stamped 10k, 14k, 18k, and sometimes 22k. Gold jewelry from the Middle East, India, and some parts of Asia are usually 22k. Most often you can read these stamps without a magnifying glass or jewelers loupe, but it would probably be a good idea to always have one on you to make sure you can read every stamp.

You might often see a decimal number on the stamp instead of the traditional karat markings. This represents the percentage of gold in the piece and is generally an authentic stamp of real gold.

The following stamped numbers are for each gold type.

10k – 417 14k – 585 18k – 750 22k – 917

Keep an eye out for gold filled or gold plated items. You do not want to purchase any of these items even if they are offering you a cheap price. Stick with solid gold.

Examples of Stamps That Are Not Solid Gold: 14k 1/20 – Plated or Gold Filled 14k G.F. – Gold Filled 14k G.P. – Gold Plated 14k H.G.E – Hydrostatic Gold Electroplated 14k G.E.P. – Gold Electroplated

Once you determine the karat of your item, you are ready to calculate your items value.

About Chad Castellanos

I’m Chad Castellanos. I have been in the precious metals industry since 2007. I have owned a precious metals business since 2012, and I help educate people on how to get the best price for their gold and silver.

In addition to educating people on how and where to sell, I assist individuals in starting their own business based on a unique  strategy I have developed over the years.