How to detect between Real Gold and Fake Gold (Easy to Hard Way)
When you buy gold online or from a physical jewelry store nearby, it is always very important to be sure that you have bought the real gold. When you buy from a renowned jeweler that gives you a guarantee and all and assures that the gold is real with an authentic certificate, then it’s fine. But when you buy gold online or from some not-so-famous jeweler, you must verify that you have spent your money on the real gold. Another scenario where you may find the need to verify the real gold would be when you get it as a gift.
Difference between Real and Fake Gold:
Any metal that contains more than 41% gold is considered real gold. Anything less than 41% or 10 Karats will be considered as fake gold.
So today we are explaining some easy and some a bit hard ways to detect between real gold and fake gold.
Easy Ways:
Here are some easy ways to detect between real gold and fake gold:
- Magnets, we all have them in our home. Get a magnet and hold it near the gold, if the gold is real, it will not stick. But if the gold is fake, it will immediately stick to the magnet. The real gold does not contain any magnetic elements like iron or nickel in it.
- Check for Hallmarks on the gold. The real gold has stamps and hallmarks on the inner sides of the jewelry. The stamps can be according to the grading system in a region like 0K to 24K or 1 to 999. So get that magnifier out and look for the stamp on your gold jewelry.
- Rubbing the gold on a ceramic surface is also an easy way to detect if it is real or fake gold. If the gold is leaving a color streak or if some fragments of it are coming out then it is not real.
Hard Ways:
Some gold items are hard to detect if they are real or fake. They may have a very little quantity of gold in them, making it hard to verify for this you must try the following:
- Gold testing kits are available in the market for you to detect between real and fake gold. The kit includes nitric acid and touchstones. You can use the touchstone to scratch off your gold item to see if it is real or fake.
- The nitric acid test is also a great way to check the gold. Wear your work gloves and make a scratch on the gold item with a sharp tool. Add a drop of nitric acid on the scratched place. If the metal reacts with the acid then the item is not real gold. The real gold does not react with nitric acid.
So these were some awesome ways to detect between real and fake gold. If you are still unsure which method to use, go to your jeweler, they will do a gold authenticity test for you.
