What is 916 Gold?

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Gold

What is 916 Gold?

If you own a gold jewelry, you will usually notice markings of numbers stamped. These markings are telling you something about the quality of your gold jewelry. These markings have been standardized so that questions regarding the quality of gold can easily be recognized. Purity of gold is measured in carats or karats and there is no actual difference between the two terms.

Although there are no difference between the terms carat and karat, different countries have different preference on what term to use. Carat or CT is used by Canada, South Africa, Australia, New Zealand and Great Britain. On the other hand, karat (KT or K) is preferred by countries like China, United States, and South East Asian countries. The idea of using a method in determining gold quality came from early Mesopotamia. At that time, they used seeds of carob tree and became the standard in weighing gold.

In reality, gold alone may mean less strength and durability. That is why gold is usually alloyed with other metals to make stronger and durable jewelries. Karats represent the purity of gold wherein 24 karats of gold mean the purest form of gold. The purer the gold, the more expensive it is and as mentioned earlier the drawback is its strength and durability.

So what does 916 gold mean?

When you talk about 916 gold that means it is 91.6% pure gold. This kind of gold is mixed with cadmium for strength and durability. In carats, 916 gold is equivalent to 22 CT. Depending on the country rating of pure gold differs. In some countries like India, the highest purity of gold is the 916 gold or the 22 CT. On the other hand, Western countries rate pure gold as 24 K, which means gold at its 100%.

To some people, purity does not really matter. Most people follow their taste in terms of jewelry design. Some think about the budget, which is the usual reason of gold aficionados. Today you will see gold in different colors. There is white gold, which is gold mixed with white metal. White metal is usually palladium or nickel. You may also see some pink or red gold. This type of jewelry gets its color by mixing gold with copper alloy.

There are also green gold and it is done by mixing 75 percent of gold and 25 percent of silver. No copper is added to attain the beautiful yellowish green tone. Grey gold is also available. By mixing gold with silver, manganese and copper grey gold tone is achieved. Then there is the black gold by using electroplating. Black rhodium or ruthenium is applied to get a black finish.

All of these gold, whatever color or form they may be, it is still the purity that counts. Any color or form can be called a 916 gold. Whether it is a green, white, red, black or white gold, as long as it retains the purity of 91.6 percent gold, it is still considered pure gold. The 916 gold is the one being considered the perfect form of pure gold.

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