Gold is not only beautiful, but it’s also friendly to wear. This explains why gold bracelets for women hardly ever go out of style.
Gold is a unique precious metal that’s durable and specially designed to retain value over time.
Often buying gold jewelry is considered to be an investment because it doesn’t come cheap.
A well maintained gold bracelet for women can last for many generations.
If you love gold jewelry, knowing how to buy gold jewelry helps you get the most value from your purchase.
What’s the Impact of Purity on Value?
A genuine gold bracelet for women will come with a specific figure to indicate how much pure gold it contains in percentage.
This could range anywhere from 10K, 14K, and 18K. The letter K represents karat. The higher the karat, the more expensive the jewelry piece will be.
Let’s take a detailed look at the karat percentage.
- If your jewelry is indicated 24K, it means it’s pure gold
- 18K jewelry comprises 18 parts of gold and 6 parts one or more extra metals. This makes it 75% gold.
- 14K jewelry comes with 14 parts of gold and 12 parts of one or more metals which makes it 50% gold.
- 10K jewelry contains 10 parts of gold and 14 parts one or more metals and this makes it 41.7%gold.
- 10 karat in the lowest karat that can be said to be gold in the US.
Commonly Sold Gold Jewelry
You’re likely to find gold bracelets for women in various jewelry stores in the US.
If the jewelry you buy is less than 14 karats, it means that it can only be valuable for a short period.
It’s worth mentioning that the higher the gold content, the more influence it shall make in the market.
Apart from gold content, there are various factors to consider to determine how valuable your jewelry pieces are.
Here are some of them.
Understand European Markings
European gold bracelets for women are marked with numbers that show the percentage of gold. You need to understand them, especially when you’re buying classic gold jewelry.
Understand other Markings on your Gold Jewelry
Karat branding on your gold jewelry should come with a trademark that can help you determine the manufacturer.
The product’s country of origin is usually indicated in some jewelry as well. Make sure the gold jewelry you choose has been certified for gold content before you can buy it.
Why mix Gold with other Metals?
Knowing about gold alloys can come in handy to help you in your search for gold jewelry.
Remember, pure gold is usually soft and this means that wearing it every day is impractical.
Other metals are usually combined with gold to enhance its durability. Such jewelry often comes at a low price.
Mixing gold with different metals enables metallurgists to change its color. For instance, nickel and palladium can be mixed with gold to produce white gold.
Combining gold with copper creates a pink or rose tint. Doing so with silver produces a green cast
When metals are combined with gold, the result is an alloy. This is a bent combination of metals which can be quite expensive.
Solid gold is a term used to define jewelry that contains a minimum of 10 karats of gold in the US
Gold Used as a Coating
There are various ways of applying gold coating in a less expensive metal and this reduces its cost.
Remember, if your jewelry comes with an overly thick layer of gold you shouldn’t wear it daily. Doing so exposes your gold bracelet to wear and tear.
Finally
Plated or gold filled jewelry is ideal for the jewelry you plan to wear occasionally.
However, don’t think about it as an investment. Daily use of these pieces increases wear and tear which in turn exposes bottom part of the metal.
This could stain your skin and eventually trigger an allergic reaction.
If you’re looking for the best gold bracelets for women that will be durable, you should invest in the highest quality gold you can afford.
