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Gold Marks On Jewelry |
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This Gold Mark page is my opinion of
Gold Mark terms. Sometimes marks partially or completely wear
off or are fake, test gold when the appearance
of the item looks questionable. I assume no
liability. |
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| General Gold Plate
Marks |
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Gold plate is a very thin plating (covering) of
gold (about 1/1000 - 1/1,000,000 of an inch).
Heavy gold electroplate might be 2 or 3/1000s of
an inch thick. |
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| 14KHGE |
14 karat
heavy gold electroplate |
plated with
a thin layer of 14K gold |
| 18KGE |
18 karat
gold electroplate |
plated with
a thin layer of 18K gold |
| 18KHGE |
18 karat
heavy gold electroplate |
plated with
a thin layer of 18K gold |
| 24KGB or
24K GB |
electroplate |
plated with
a thin layer of 24K gold |
| Clad in
gold |
covered in
gold |
plated with
a thin layer of gold, usually 18K |
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Electroplate |
electroplate |
plated with
a thin layer of gold, usually 18K |
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Electroplated |
electroplate |
plated with
a thin layer of gold, usually 18K |
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Electroplating |
electroplate |
plated with
a thin layer of gold, usually 18K |
| EP |
electro plate |
plated with
a thin layer of gold, usually 18K |
| GE |
gold electroplate |
plated with
a thin layer of gold, usually 18K |
| GEP |
gold electro plate |
plated with
a thin layer of gold, usually 18K |
| Gold Clad
or Clad in Gold |
gold electro plate |
plated with
a thin layer of 18-24K gold |
| Gold Layered |
gold plate |
plated with
a thin layer of gold, usually 18K |
| Gold Plated |
gold plate |
plated with
a thin layer of gold, usually 18K |
| Gold Tone |
gold color
applied |
covered in
gold color, not gold plating |
| GP |
gold plate |
plated with
a thin layer of gold, usually 18K |
| HE |
heavy electroplate |
plated with
a thin layer of gold, usually 18K |
| HGE |
heavy gold
electroplate |
plated with
a thin layer of gold, usually 18K |
| KARATCLAD |
karat clad
in heavy gold electroplate |
plated with
a thin layer of gold, usually 18K |
| KGP |
karat gold plate |
plated with
a thin layer of gold, usually 18K |
| KHGE |
karat
heavy gold electroplate |
plated with
a thin layer of gold, usually 18K |
| KTP |
karat plate |
plated with
a thin layer of gold, usually 18K |
| Layered |
layers of
gold applied |
plated with
a thin layer of gold, usually 18K |
| Overlay |
gold
overlay |
plated with
a thin layer of gold, usually 18K |
| Plated |
plated |
plated with
a thin layer of gold, usually 18K |
| TB |
technibond |
a
layer of gold
covering, bonded to the base metal |
| Technibond |
technibond |
a
layer of gold
covering, bonded to the base metal |
| Vermeil |
gold plate
over sterling |
gold plate
over sterling silver |
| WGP |
white gold
plate |
plated with
a thin layer of gold, usually 18K |
| YGP |
yellow gold
plate |
plated with
a thin layer of gold, usually 18K |
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electroplaqué d'or |
gold electroplate |
plated with
a thin layer of gold, usually 18K |
| plaqué |
gold plate |
plated with
a thin layer of gold, usually 18K |
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| Gold Filled & Rolled
Gold Are A Type
Of Very Thick Covering |
| Gold Filled -
Rolled Gold - Rolled Gold Plate -
Rolled Gold Filled |
These interchangeable terms refer to the same
manufacturing process: a thin sheet of gold that is
laminated to a lesser metal (usually brass). The two
layers of metal are heated under pressure to fuse them
together. The result is a piece of jewelry that has a
gold covering of (in most cases) 1/20th (covering of
gold, by total weight) compared to gold plating that has a tiny
gold covering of about 1/1000 (of an inch).
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| 1/8 |
1/8th gold
covering |
covered in
1/8th, usually 12K* gold, by total weight |
| 1/10 |
1/10th gold
covering |
covered in
1/10th, usually 12K* gold, by total weight |
| 1/14, 10K
1/14 |
1/14th gold
covering |
covered in
1/14th, usually 12K* gold, by total weight |
| 1/20 |
1/20th gold
covering |
covered in
1/20th, usually 12K* gold, by total weight |
| 1/20 GF |
1/20th gold covering |
covered in
1/20th, usually 12K* gold, by total weight |
| 1/30 |
1/30th gold
covering |
covered in 1/30th, usually 12K* gold, by total weight |
| 1/30-14K
R.G.F. |
1/30th 14K
gold filled |
covered in
1/30th, 14K gold, by total weight |
| 1/30-14K
R.G.P. |
1/30th 14K
gold filled |
covered in
1/30th, 14K gold, by total weight |
| 1/40 |
1/40th gold
covering |
covered in
1/40th, usually 12K* gold, by total weight |
| 12K GF |
1/20th 12K
gold filled |
covered in
1/20th, usually 12K* gold, by total weight |
| GF |
gold
filled |
covered in
1/20th, usually 12K* gold, by total weight |
| Gold Filled |
gold
filled |
covered in
1/20th, usually 12K* gold, by total weight |
| RG |
rolled
gold |
covered in
1/20th, usually 12K* gold, by total weight |
| R.G.F. or
RGF |
rolled
gold filled |
covered in
1/20th, usually 12K* gold, by total weight |
| R.G.P. or
RGP |
rolled gold
plate |
covered in
1/20th, usually 12K* gold, by total weight |
| Rolled Gold |
rolled gold |
covered in
1/20th, usually 12K* gold, by total weight |
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| doublé d'or |
gold filled |
covered in
1/20th, usually 12K* gold, by total weight |
| plaqué d'or
laminé |
rolled gold
plate |
covered in
1/20th, usually 12K* gold, by total weight |
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| *The covering from
1/8th to 1/40th and/or the gold purity mark (karat) from 10k - 14k may vary,
both should be stated on the jewelry. |
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| Common
Marks For Genuine Gold |
| 9K |
contains 37
percent gold |
375 parts
per 1000 gold, this is common in the United Kingdom
(England) |
| 10K, 10KT,
10Kt |
contains 41
percent gold |
410 parts
per 1000 gold, harder gold for men's jewelry |
12K
see note*
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contains 50
percent gold
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500 parts
per 1000 gold, *most of the
time associated with gold filled, (see 12K GF) or
dental gold & gold crowns which are 12K gold
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| 14K, 14KT,
14Kt |
contains 58
percent gold |
585 parts
per 1000 gold, more delicate gold for ladies jewelry |
| 14KP |
karat plum,
same as 14K |
the "plum
pure" term was used in the 70s & 80s, which successfully
confused many |
| 18K, 18KT,
18Kt |
contains 75
percent gold |
750 parts
per 1000 gold, more delicate gold for ladies jewelry |
| 20K |
contains 83
percent gold |
833 parts
per 1000 gold, softer, bendable gold, I do not recommend
for jewelry |
| 22K |
contains 92
percent gold |
916 parts
per 1000 gold |
| 24K |
contains
100 percent pure gold |
1000 parts
per 1000 pure gold |
| K24 |
a jewelry
company |
contains
very little or no gold, this is a name of a jewelry
maker, not gold |
Dental gold
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unmarked
dental gold
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most dental
gold & gold crowns are 12K gold, which is 500 parts per
1000 gold. 12K gold has a like hardness of human teeth
and is best suited for dental use.
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| Common
Marks For Genuine Foreign Gold |
| 375 |
same as 9K |
375 parts
per 1000 gold, this is common in the United Kingdom
(England) |
| 417 |
same as 10K |
417 parts per 1000 gold, harder
gold for men's jewelry |
| 585 or 583 |
same as 14K |
585 parts per 1000 gold, more
delicate gold for ladies jewelry |
| 750 |
same as 18K |
750 parts per 1000 gold, more
delicate gold for ladies jewelry |
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General Additional
Descriptions For Genuine
Gold
the colors of gold below, do
not effect the karat or purity of what is marked on the
jewelry, except the last one |
| Yellow gold |
yellow
colored gold |
normal
karat gold with brass alloy to give the metal a rich
gold color |
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YG |
yellow
colored gold |
same as above, should be accompanied with a karat mark
like 14K YG |
| White gold |
silver
colored gold |
same as
normal karat gold with nickel alloy to give the metal a
silver color |
| WG |
silver
colored gold |
same as
normal karat gold with nickel alloy to give the metal a
silver color |
| Rose gold |
pink or red
colored gold |
same as
normal karat gold with copper alloy to give the metal a
red color |
| Green gold |
green
colored gold |
same as
normal karat gold with silver alloy to give the metal a
green color |
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Gold Post |
just the post is gold |
the rest of the earring is not gold |
| Black Hills
gold |
multi
colored gold |
same as normal karat gold with a combination of the color techniques
above |
| Black Hills
silver |
has some
gold applied to silver |
small gold
embellishments applied to sterling silver jewelry,
mostly silver not gold |
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Other Terms |
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Karat |
Is a term used for gold purity when divided into 24
parts. 14K for example is 14 parts gold and 10 parts
other metal. |
| Carat |
Is a term
used for gemstone weight. For example one carat weighs
0.20 grams and five carats weigh one gram. |
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Carrot |
An orange colored vegetable that Bugs Bunny likes. |
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Permission to copy is given when you give credit
to yesterdaysgems.com
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