WHAT IS A KARAT?

The karat amount is the percentage of gold found within a piece of jewelry. The amount of gold found within a piece of fine jewelry directly affects the longevity and appearance of it. When considering the best way to balance these two key factors many considerations must be made. Before you invest in a lasting memory, here is a quick summary of all you need to know about the different levels of gold purity.

DOES THE KARAT MATTER?

In short, yes it does. To highlight the fine differences between the percentages of gold by way of appearance here are the numbers.

• 24K is 100% pure gold
• 18k is 75% pure gold
• 14k is 58.5% pure gold
• 10k is 41.6% pure gold

WHAT KARAT SHOULD I USE?

Deciding on the karat of a piece of jewelry largely depends on the purpose of the piece. Because gold is a soft metal and prone to scratches having a higher percentage of gold, while stunning, is simply not practical for everyday use. However, if the piece is not for everyday use, the color payoff of the higher karat cannot be beat. Things such as wedding rings, simple bracelets or delicate necklaces are best kept as 10k or 14k. More extravagant pieces have more leniency and you can choose a higher karat such as 18k or 24k for those as the color payoff of the higher quality gold is just spectacular.