If you want to learn more about 22 karat gold, you're in good hands with us. This blog post explains what 22-karat gold is and what you need to know when investing in 22-karat gold jewellery.
What are gold karats?
A karat refers to the purity of gold. Gold is made up of 24 karats or parts. So, 24 karat gold is 100% gold. Whereas 22 karat gold is 91.67% gold and 8.33% other alloys. As we move down commonly used karats, the gold percentage decreases, with 18 karat at 75% and 14 karat at 58.3%.
The remaining gold alloys that aren't 100% pure are a range of other metals, such as silver, copper, and nickel.
Why is gold alloyed with other metals for jewellery?
While it is possible to craft designs from pure gold, it's rare. Due to its purity, 24 karat gold is highly malleable. As a result, it's unsuitable for jewellery that is ideal for everyday wear, as it can easily scratch and lose its shape.
Furthermore, by alloying gold with lower-cost metals, jewellery becomes more accessible priced. In a nutshell, pure gold is alloyed with other metals for durability and affordability.
The different colours of 22 karat gold
Although all 22 karat gold comprises 91.67% gold and 8.33% other alloys, it doesn't all look the same. While typically a rich yellow colour, there are several shades 22k gold can take based on the mix of metal alloys used for the remaining alloys.
Because the various alloys change the colour, we can choose from yellow and rose gold shades. For example, rose gold gets its colour from larger quantities of copper.
Types of 22 karat gold
Now that we've covered karats and colour, it's time to get into types. With so many kinds of gold on the market and some brands often misleading customers, it can be difficult to tell the types apart. However, it's essential to know that not all 22 karat gold jewellery is identical.
There are four types of gold jewellery available:
Gold Plated - Gold-plated is the lowest cost option because the design only uses 0.05% of pure gold on top of a base metal.
Gold Vermeil - Gold vermeil (pronounced ver-may) is a thicker gold plating on top of sterling silver. In the UK, the gold plating needs to be a minimum of 2.5 microns thick. However, when converted to millimetres, 2.5 microns is just 0.0025mm.
Gold Filled - Gold-filled jewellery is plated with a layer of solid gold, weighing at least 5% of the item's total weight. So, if you had a gold ring that weighs 5 grams, 0.25 grams would be solid gold.
Solid Gold - Solid gold (our personal favourite!) is crafted entirely of gold. As a result, this is the best quality of gold jewellery you can invest in.
How to Buy 22 Karat Gold Jewellery
If you're ready to invest in 22 karat solid gold jewellery, here are our three golden rules.
- If you're shopping with a UK jeweller, hallmarking is a legal requirement for any designs that weigh over 1g. So, always check for hallmarks. The purity mark for 22 karat gold is 916. Learn more about hallmarking here.
- Check independent review sites such as TrustPilot.
- Shop with brands that are transparent about the weight of the designs. If the weight isn't listed, the jewellery might be very lightweight and unsuitable for daily wear.
At Umara, we only use solid gold in our designs now and forever. So, you can shop with the confidence that you're buying high-quality products that will truly last a lifetime. The best bit? We're committed to transparent and fair pricing. While other brands markup jewellery as much as 1000%, our markup is significantly lower, so you can enjoy solid gold jewellery minus unnecessary price tags.