Last updated on February 2nd, 2022 at 03:01 pm
If you are looking for ways on How To Tell If A Necklace Is Real Gold or not, then this post is for you. Gold is a generally soft and malleable metal that is durable and has a precious. It is one of the most important and rarest elements globally and is naturally found in its pure state. Gold has been used since ancient times to create jewelry, sculptures, coins, etc. Its good conductivity, flexibility, and resistance to corrosion make it highly sought after.
It is not surprising that there are cases where customers end up buying fake or imitation jewelry. But, unfortunately, many buyers are not educated on identifying real gold jewelry from imitation ones. This will be quite frustrating, especially to those who believe they have bought real gold jewelry. Are Hidden Cameras Allowed In School
Identifying the authenticity of gold jewelry is important as it determines whether the gold is genuine. Gold jewelry has great value, and some people would love to own them because of its beauty and value.
Keynote:
If you thought there were no ways of telling if your jewelry is real gold, think again. We will share with you four simple ways of checking for real gold, ranging from the most obvious ways to ways that are more likely to be avoided by jewelers trying to pass off fake gold for real.
Read this: 2021 Best Spy Necklace Pendant & Hidden Camera Necklaces for Women or Men
Ways of Telling if Gold Necklace is Real
Gold is a very dense, corrosion-resistant metal, which makes it a great jewelry material. It is also soft and therefore can be shaped to make beautiful jewelry. Gold comes in a variety of shades, from pale yellow to deep rose.
Even though gold is a relatively soft metal, it is still durable enough to be used as a jewelry material. Gold can be plated with rhodium which makes the jewelry more durable and prevents tarnish. On the other hand, if your gold necklace or bracelet has been worn for a long time or has been exposed to chemicals such as chlorine or hair spray, you may need to have it re-plated, so it will not tarnish. Do Metal Detectors Detect Gold and Silver?
Note:
Gold is often mixed with other metals to make it stronger and easier to shape. The most common metal used with gold is copper, but silver and nickel are also good choices. The purity of gold means that all the other metals and elements are removed from the metal before it is sold as jewelry.
Pure gold is 24 karats; 22 karats means that 91.7 percent of the element by mass is pure gold; 18 karats means 75 percent pure gold; 14 karats means 58.3 percent 10 karat means 41.7 percent pure gold.
There are several ways experts use in identifying if a gold necklace is fake or real. We would be looking at 4 of the basic methods, which include:
1. Acid Test
The acid test is done to check for the reaction of gold with acid to test for its originality. The acid test is performed by scratching the surface of the necklace slightly and then adding drops a small drop of trioxo nitrate (v) acid (HNO3) to the scratched surface.
Note:
If the necklace does not react with the acid dropped, then your gold necklace is real gold. On the other hand, if a milky or green coloration is noticed, you have a fake gold necklace or a bar of gold over silver, copper, or any other element product. see the post on Best Metal Detectors for Gold and Silver
2. Magnet Test
Typically gold has no magnetic component hence is not attracted by magnets. A physical way of telling if your Gold necklace is real or fake is by using a strong magnet bar or passing the necklace through a strong magnetic field. If the magnet attracts your gold necklace, it’s not real gold but a fake.
3. Image Test
This is an advanced method of checking for the originality of gold products, including necklaces. The image test involves using the image of the gold to check for its properties that are referenced with known properties of pure gold to determine originality. The image test is quite costly and is used mostly for large bars and quantities of gold.
4. Sound Test
Every metal has a unique sound and frequency when they collide with other bodies. The sound of gold can be used to find out if the gold is original or fake. A test of the originality of gold using a sound test needs to be done by an expert. This will ensure correct results in the probe for your good necklace originality, as they know the sound frequency in pure gold and the corresponding sound of pure gold.
There are other advanced methods of checking for the purity or originality of gold products. some of which include:
- Metallographic Analysis
- Sampling and Melting of spectrum detection
- Fire Assay
- Smelting Identification
- X-Ray Fluorescence (XRF)
- Atomic Absorption Spectroscopy (AAS)
- Inductively Coupled Plasma Mass spectrometry (ICP)
How to tell if gold is real with makeup/How to test gold at home with makeup
There are several ways to check for the originality of your necklace or any other item made of gold. First, you can use home solutions to check for the originality of gold items, one of which is the makeup used for beautification. To use makeup to check for the originality of gold, follow these steps:
- Put some lipstick on your lips or smeared on a clean surface, then rub them with a clean napkin or wipe them with the back of your hand.
- Take your gold necklace and smear lipstick with the napkin with lipstick on it.
- Get another clean napkin and wipe off the lipstick on the gold necklace. If it is made of real gold, there would be no traces of lipstick left on the necklace.
- If there is leftover lipstick on the product, you have a fake or substandard gold product in your hand.
How to test gold at home with bleach
You can find out the originality of your gold product using bleach at home without going to the jeweler’s store. Using bleach to test for the originality of your good item is just like using nitric acid. However, it is not as accurate as the nitric acid test. Using bleach to test for purity of gold would ruin your jewelry if it turns out to be a fake one. Bleach test is used for testing small-sized gold items.
Steps to using bleach to check for gold originality
- Use plain chlorine based bleach for the bleach test of gold
- Pour enough bleach that can cover the item into a glass
- Scratch your gold item a bit.
- Drop your gold item into the bleach carefully and observe for colour change and reactions.
- If Your item changes color, then it is a fake gold or a good plated item because pure gold does not react with bleaches and so many other chemicals.
Conclusion
Checking for the originality of supposed gold necklaces is important to avoid losing your hard-earned money to fake products and counterfeiters. Checking if gold is genuine can be done easily and at home with some methods, but expert jewelers do the 100%.
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