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Tips In Buying Jewelry

When a man decides to please a woman with a gift, the chances of being successful is high when he buys her jewelry. Flowers are nice but many women are picky with flowers. On the other hand, jewelry, especially if it is in a set, will certainly be appreciated. This is because earrings, necklaces, and bracelets, according to a mysterious feminine logic, are considered necessities, along with makeup and shoes. But fake or cheap jewelry will not impress the sophisticated female. To avoid being taken in by phony jewelers, here are some tips to remember when buying the most sought after types of jewelry: gold and diamond.

Gold

When buying gold, the first thing to learn about is the word karat. The karat is the unit used to represent the proportion of gold in the piece of jewelry. Pure gold is set at 24 karats but there is no 24-karat gold jewelry because pure gold is too pliable to be fashioned into any form of jewelry. The popularly sold gold jewelry are 18-k (75% gold), 16-k (66.67% gold), 14-k (about 58% gold), and 12-k (50% gold). The smallest karat value for a piece of jewelry to be considered gold is 10-k (42% gold). If a piece of jewelry has less than 10-k, it cannot be considered as gold. Professional jewelers call these low-karat gold pieces as gold-plated or gold-overlay.

Diamond

When buying diamond, there are four aspects that must be considered. These are the cut, the color, the carat, and the clarity of the diamond. Of these four aspects, the most important is the cut of the diamond. Diamonds can be hand-cut or machine-cut but it does not really matter whether the diamond cutter is man or machine as long as the diamond is cut to achieve the greatest symmetry and brilliance. A diamond cut does not refer to the size or shape of the diamond. It refers to depth and width, symmetry, and polish. If the depth and width of the diamond were precisely and ideally cut, they direct light to travel deep into the bottom part and then bring back that light to shine brightly on the surface. The facets of the diamonds should be balanced and this is called symmetry. And finally, the cuts should be made through specific lines to avoid chipping off the surface.

There is also the issue of diamonds being mined in Africa to finance and support the various conflicts in this continent. Such diamonds came to be known as blood diamonds. Blood diamonds may not be suitable for a jewelry which is intended to express love. Fortunately, the reputable companies involved in the diamond industry have established a tracking system for diamonds to reveal the area where they were mined and the store where they were sold. To ensure that the diamond jewelry is in no way related to any African conflict, there must be a written guarantee that will accompany the invoice of the jewelry.

And finally, whenever buying jewelry such as gold, diamond, or any other gemstone, it is best to deal with jewelers of good reputation. They would be upfront and honest about the jewelry that they are selling. It is also a prudent idea to avoid huge discounts. Jewelry is unlike clothing or appliances. The value of jewelry does not depreciate and therefore, the original price found on the sale tag is not the actual value of the jewelry.

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How to distinguish gold from gold plated jewelry?

I try to learn to distinguish solid 10K, 14k, 18K gold jewelry from gold plated or gold filled jewelry. What is the method?

The lack of a hallmark (10k, 14k, 18k etc.) is not indicative of whether your piece is gold or not. In the United States it is against the FTC's regulations for the jeweler to hallmark a piece of jewelry unless it is accompanied by a maker's mark. So, when I first began making jewelry and did not have a trademark of my own, I did not hallmark my jewelry. Now that I have a maker's mark, I hallmark my jewelry with the appropriate metal hallmark and my maker's mark.

A jeweler cannot just look at a piece and tell you for certain whether it is gold or not; the jeweler will do a test to determine it.

To be scientfically accurate a sample of the metal in question must be assayed in a testing laboratory, but the following two tests have been used for many years and often are sufficiently accurate for a craftsperson or the owner of the metal in question.

To answer "Is It Gold?":

With a small file, make a scratch in an inconspicuous spot. While wearing rubber gloves, use a wooden, glass or plastic stick to apply a drop of nitric acid to the filed spot. Observe the reaction. When done, rinse everything well in running water.

If there is no reaction, it's gold.
If there's a bright green reaction, it's base metal.
If there's green in the scratch, it's a gold layer over base metal (goldplate, or--if the layer of gold is thick enough--goldfilled).
If there's a milky reaction in the scratch, it's a gold layer over silver.

To answer "What Karat Is It?"

Determining karat requires a testing kit containing nitric acid, aqua regia, samples of known karat, and a touchstone of slate or ceramic.

The gold object to be tested is rubbed on the stone ("touched") to leave a streak. A parallel line is made with one of the test pieces of known karat. Both marks are flooded with acid and the reaction are observed. When the sample colors at the same rate as the test streak, a match has been made. Nitric acid is used for low karat golds; aqua regia is needed for higher karats.

Please note: these tests are for your information only. They are not accurate enough to rely upon when representing a piece for sale. Most jewelers have testing kits to use when determining if something is gold or not and its approximate karat. It is probably easiest to take the item to a jeweler than to set up the testing kits yourself.

Gold Rises on Haven Demand Before Fed Meeting, Aid for Greece
March 16 (Bloomberg) -- Gold rose for a second day in London as investors sought a haven before the U.S. Federal Reserve’s interest rate decision and amid speculation about financial aid to Greece.

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