Choosing Your Gold: A Comprehensive Guide to 10K, 14K, 18K, and 24K

Like diamonds, gold is a priceless material that has been sought after for centuries when it comes to jewelry and adding wealth to your accessory collection. Also like diamonds, their purity is measured in karats (with a ‘k’ instead of a ‘c’).

If you’ve started to shop for gold jewelry to add elegance to your everyday attire, then you might have noticed the different purities levels such as 10k, 14k, 18k, and 24k. In this guide, we’re going over gold purity, how to understand the different karats, and which gold purity level is best for you.

Gold Purity: What Does ‘Karat’ Mean?

Like we mentioned, karat – not to be confused with carat, which is used for diamonds – is a unit of measurement used to measure the purity of gold content within a piece of jewelry. There are four different levels of gold purity within jewelry: 24k, 18k, 14k, and 10k. Each contains a different amount of gold and other metals in the pieces.

Here’s a breakdown of how pure each gold karat level is.

24k: 99.9% pure gold.
18k: 75% pure gold.
14k: 58.3% pure gold.
10k: 41.7% pure gold.

While 24k gold is completely pure, it is too soft to use for jewelry. 24k gold is extremely susceptible to bending, scratches, and dents, so it’s not ideal for everyday wear. 18k, 14k, and 10k gold pieces are mixed with alloys like copper, zinc, palladium, nickel, and more to add the durability and strength each piece needs to make it suitable for everyday use by preventing bending and scratches.

When gold is mixed with these metals, they also sometimes create a different appearance than the traditional yellow. It all depends on which metals are used in the combination. You can still find a yellow gold piece of jewelry if the gold is mixed with copper and silver, but there are two more gold colors you can find in jewelry: white and rose.

White gold is created with gold mixed with palladium, nickel, or silver. White gold is cooler than yellow gold since it has a silver, light appearance contrasted to the warm yellow gold.

Rose gold is a romantic-looking shade. This color comes from mixing copper with yellow gold to get the slight pink hue rose gold is known for.

The Karat Breakdown: Features & Differences

Let’s break down each karat count further to note the features, similarities, and differences.

24k Gold

Purity Count	Color	Pros	Cons
99.9% pure gold	Traditional, rich yellow.	High value Hypoallergenic from lack of other metals Suitable for sensitive skin	Not suitable for everyday wear due to softness High cost Requires frequent polishing to maintain shine

18k Gold

Purity Count	Color	Pros	Cons
75% pure gold	Traditional yellow, white gold, or rose gold.	High value Strong for everyday wear Hypoallergenic from small inclusion of other metals More durable than 24k	Can become easily scratched High cost Requires more maintenance and cleaning to maintain shine

14k Gold

Purity Count	Color	Pros	Cons
58.3% pure gold	Traditional yellow, white gold, or rose gold.	Very durable for everyday wear Resistant to dents and scratches More affordable Versatile in styles and designs	Less hypoallergenic from amount of alloys Lower value Slightly dull appearance More prone to tarnishing

10k Gold

Purity Count	Color	Pros	Cons
41.7% pure gold	Traditional yellow, white gold, or rose gold.	Very affordable Highly durable Perfect for harsh everyday wear	Paler in color from high alloy count Not hypoallergenic Lowest value and gold count

Choosing the Right Karat: Factors to Consider

Choosing the right karat count comes down to a few personal preferences you need to consider before investing in a gold jewelry piece. The last thing you want to do is invest in a pure gold piece and find it damaged from everyday wear.

Here are a few factors to consider when shopping for gold jewelry so you can choose the right karat count:

Budget: Realistically examine your budget and determine how much you’re willing to spend on gold jewelry. Know that the higher the karat is, the higher the cost will be. So find a middle ground between purity count and price that’s reasonable for you.
Durability/Lifestyle: Consider your lifestyle and how you plan to wear the piece. Do you want gold jewelry to complement your everyday looks? Or do you want an heirloom statement piece for special occasions? This determines how durable your jewelry will need to be while also factoring in cost.
Color: Browse gold jewelry pieces in different shades before purchasing to settle on the color you like the most. Do you want a traditional yellow piece for warmth? Cool from white gold? Or a slight, romantic color from rose gold?
Skin Sensitivity: Some gold pieces are more suited for those with skin sensitivities than others. Pieces with a higher gold count are best for preventing allergic reactions since they do not use as much metals as lower karat counts do.
Investment/Sentimental Value: Gold jewelry is meant to be appreciated for a lifetime, which means protecting its sentimental value. If you’re shopping for a piece to add to a collection that you plan to pass down to loved ones, then you’ll want to choose a higher karat count since these last with their value.

Shop Ferkos’ Fine Gold Jewelry

Find the perfect gold jewelry piece to add to your collection by browsing our gold jewelry pieces. Ferko’s specializes in creating beautiful jewelry designed to make everyday elevated and beautiful with high-quality pieces meant to last a lifetime.

Shop our selection of gold bracelets, rings, earrings, and necklaces to enhance the elegance of your everyday wear, or browse our stunning statement pieces for a valuable piece sure to make your jewelry box more sophisticated.

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