
Steps To Verify If Your Gold Jewellery Is Genuine
Gold jewellery has always been a symbol of wealth, beauty and elegance. The metal itself offers durability and longevity for gold buyers online.
When a person is looking to sell/buy gold jewellery, it is imperative to verify whether it is genuine to get the best deal.
There are a few steps to ensure the jewellery is real, including checking the weight, looking for stamps or markings, and checking the quality of the gold. By following these steps, gold buyers and sellers online can be confident that they are buying/selling genuine gold jewellery.
What are Some Properties of Gold?
Let us first recall some of gold’s chemical composition.
- Gold is oxidation resistant. Unlike copper, silver, brass, aluminium, and other metals, it does not tarnish or rust.
- On gold, magnets are ineffective. A piece of gold is not genuine if it reacts with a magnet. In contrast to highly magnetic materials like iron, cobalt, or nickel, which are used to make permanent magnets, gold exhibits extremely mild magnetic forces.
- Gold is a soft metal and needs to alloy with other metals like nickel, silver, copper, or platinum to help it overcome its weakness.
- Single acids cannot dissolve gold; however, nitro-hydrochloric acid, a concentrated acid solution, will cause it to react.
How to Verify if the Gold Jewellery is Genuine?
To verify if the gold jewellery is genuine, gold buyers online can do the following tests:
1. Magnifying glass test
A magnifying glass tests whether the gold is authentic when someone thinks of gold selling online. With the help of a magnifying glass, a person can look for tiny details and flaws in the metal, including discolouration, scratches, cracks, shine, etc., to determine if the gold is real.
Another way to tell if the jewellery is authentic is by looking at its hallmark. Gold jewellery that has hallmarks stamped onto it is considered genuine.
2. Hallmark test
Searching for a hallmark is the most significant way to determine whether the gold that one has is genuine. This little stamp shows the Karat weight of the gold. Without a hallmark, the jewellery could not be made of pure gold.
However, other explanations might also apply, such as the hallmark has likely faded with time.
3. Float test
Gold is a heavy, hard metal. Therefore, testing for its density or weight is one of the most efficient ways to ensure that it is authentic. If your gold jewellery is made of genuine gold, drop it in a bucket of water, and it will sink.
If not, then it might not be real gold. It is usually wiser to purchase gold from reputable jewellers to prevent being deceived by fake gold.
4. Magnet test
Magnetic testing is one method of determining whether or not gold jewellery is genuine. One will need a magnet that is more powerful than the standard household magnet for this test.
Place the gold you wish to test on a piece of wood. Gradually nudge the magnet toward the gold. The gold is not genuine if it is drawn to the magnet; nevertheless, if it is not drawn to the magnet, it is authentic.
5. Acid test
Nitric acid does not affect genuine gold. However, it does mix with other alloys like copper, sterling silver, zinc, etc. When doing this test, you must use the utmost caution.
Scratch the jewellery’s surface lightly and add a bit of nitric acid with a dropper to test it. The jewellery is probably gold-plated if the surface becomes green.
6. Machine test
Electronic or XRF testing equipment is the most reliable and secure technique for evaluating gold when you want to sell gold online. Using this approved technique, anyone may find out the precise composition of their gold item from qualified appraisers.
To verify the authenticity of the gold jewellery, one must choose this test.
Conclusion
A professional evaluation is the only way to guarantee if the gold item is real gold or a fake, even though these tests can assist a person make that determination.
The most reliable way to determine how much gold is actually in the gold jewellery is to take it to a respected organisation and have it tested there.