Last updated on February 2nd, 2022 at 03:01 pm
If you ways about How to Tell if 18k Gold is Real With a Lighter then you just reached the article for you.
Gold has been around for centuries as a precious metal for beautification purposes. It has also been used as a medium if exchange put money in the past. Unfortunately, for the sake of the value attached to gold, it is widespread to find criminals and all sorts of people trying to create fake gold items or versions of the highly valued metal. be sure to read this too on 14k Gold Value Per Gram: How Much is a 14k Gold Necklace Worth at a Pawn Shop
18k gold is 75% pure gold, with the remaining 25% percent made of other metal elements such as copper, Rhodium, Silver, etc. Therefore, checking for the originality of your gold items is very important. Hence, we would be discussing one of the domestic ways of checking for the originality of your gold articles which is the use of a lighter.
We will be discussing how you can use a lighter as one of the domestic test methods to verify the originality of your supposed 18k gold.
How to Tell if 18k Gold is Real With a Lighter
Testing For 18k Gold Using a lighter
Newcomers to the world of fine jewelry often wonder how to determine if a piece is 18k gold. A lighter test is a simple and easy way that people who are not experts can verify the quality of their jewelry.
The lighter test uses the facts that 18k gold is much softer than 10k or 14k gold and that it contains a small amount of copper, which makes it melt at much lower temperatures than 10k or 14k gold.
You need a lighter (preferably an old one with no fuel left in it) and some long nose pliers (or tweezers) to hold your piece to test if it is truly 18k gold.
Take your lighter and place it against the metal section of the gold item. If the metal turns black on heating, your item is probably plated and not made of 18k gold. On the other hand, if the item you are testing does not melt after holding it on the heat from the lighter for 30 seconds or more, then chances are, it’s real gold.
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Note that for Real 18k gold, when you expose it to the flame from a lighter, it will get brighter after a while as it gets hotter from the lighter heat, and not darken fake gold items would darken on exposure to the lighter heat flame.
How to tell if white gold is real with a lighter
Testing for gold originality using a lighter is one of the easiest ways to test for gold if you do not want to go to the jeweler.
To test for gold of any purity rating using a lighter can be done using a normal lighter burning at the blue flame level of the lighter. Steps to test for gold using a lighter are listed below:
1. Select the proper lighter
You would need to get a light that uses proper lighter fluid and not any other gas or fuel, ensure that the fuel is full also.
2. Position Your Gold item
Place your gold item, where you can apply flame to it. You would need to place the gold item on a platform that is not flammable.
3. Apply flame to the gold item
Apply flame to the gold item for about 60 seconds. While doing this, also observe for discoloration and melting.
If you observe the item darkening from the lighter flame, it is probably not pure gold because good becomes brighter on the burning flame application. Also, if the surface of the item begins to melt, then it is not gold.
The lighter test for gold is very effective and is used by many individuals when they buy gold jewelry or other items.
Can you test gold with a lighter
Many people keep asking if they can test for gold authenticity using a lighter. If you are also in this boat, then stop searching as your answer is here. Back to the question, Your answer is a big yes you can test for gold authenticity using a lighter.
You may be surprised that gold originality can be tested for using a lighter, but the idea is pretty simple because gold reacts to the flame produced by a lighter. So you need to keep your lighter flame on the gold you want to test and observe for between 30 – 60 seconds. If the gold becomes glowing and brighter, it is real gold, but if it changes color and darkens, you have a gold-plated metal or an outright fake.
How to tell if 18k gold is real at home
Several new technologies have emerged in the processing of gold, so they also have ways to test for gold originality. So you can comfortably test if your priced jewelry is made of original gold or just a plated fake that was passed off for an original 18k gold.
To test if your 18k gold is real at home, you can make use of several methods, some of which include: Bleaching, Vinegar, Skin test, the magnet test, hallmark test, etc.
1. Magnet Test
If you want to quickly check if your gold item is real or fake at home, a magnet would be very handy to help you figure this out. Unfortunately, gold is normally not attracted by magnets; hence it is not magnetic, so if your gold item gets magnetic, it is not real gold.
2. Vinegar Test
This test is very easy to perform. You need to get the vinegar to use for the test handy, then get your gold item drop some vinegar on three gold items, and observe that if you notice a color change, your item is not real gold.
How to tell if 18k white gold is real
Like yellow gold, we can find out if our 18k gold is real or fake; to do this, we can use the white gold streak test. Using the white gold streak test, you can test for the originality of your 18k white gold.
To perform the white gold streak test, rub in a scratch the supposed 28k white gold against the testing stone and then apply the 22 karat acid to the stone section where the 18k white gold for testing was rubbed to see how it reacts with the scratched part of the test material. This scratching is done to prevent damaging the test material in a situation it is not real gold.
Observe the reaction of the scratched area; if the area changes color to light bronze within the first 3 minutes of dropping the acid, then the test material is a real 18k white gold.
Conclusion on How to Tell if 18k Gold is Real With a Lighter
Testing for the originality of gold and gold items has become inevitable. 18k gold items have several ways of testing for their originality; as we have observed hence, you can go ahead to test your gold jewelry to know if it is truly gold or just a fake.
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