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Gold Jewelry Considered Sign Of Wealth
By Charles Wilkinson

While most people enjoy wearing jewelry in some form or another, gold jewelry seems to be the most popular. Maybe it is because the gold seems to speak volumes about a person's taste in personal decorative items, or because gold is being established as a sign of personal ideals.

One of the softest metals used in jewelry making, along with silver and platinum, gold jewelry offers a look of elegance, whether used for rings, necklaces, bracelets or ear rings and is easier than silver to keep looking bright and shiny. The amount of gold in gold jewelry is indicated by carats, abbreviated by a ‘k' and the description should include where it is gold or gold plated.

While gold jewelry can range from 10 to 24 carat, the typical is 18 carat. American gold jewelry must be at least 10 carat, 41.7 percent pure gold, and 18 carat is typically 75 percent pure gold. At 24 carat, which is 99.9% pure gold, the metal is too soft to be used in jewelry and will easily be scratched or damaged. Gold coated jewelry is typically a coating of gold over brass or bronze, or in some instances copper.

Some Riches Hidden In Gold Jewelry

In earlier times, Romans would turn their riches into gold jewelry to hide their wealth from would-be thieves, and the practice of using gold as an investment is still common today. While price fluctuations among precious metals commodities is common, gold has been the most stable of the three most common metals used in jewelry making, gold, silver and platinum.

Black gold, which is gold alloyed using rhodium, amorphous carbon or chromium to make it much harder than pure gold jewelry and its strength makes it took hard for many goldsmiths to work with. Changing sizes or adding precious stones is usually left to a master goldsmith or jewelry maker. The alloy of the black gold makes it appear darker when subjected to controlled oxidation. Away from jewelry, black gold is sometimes the name given to crude oil, coffee and other commodities due to their price.

While some people may experience a slight allergic reaction to gold jewelry, it is uncommon and many can wear it for short periods of time without breaking out in a rash. Cheap gold jewelry also has the stigma of leaving a green tinted tarnish stain on a person's skin, but with jewelry of at least 10 carat, that usually is not an issue.

Author Details:
Charles Wilkinson writes about Jewelry, watches etc. for a small selection of web sites such as The A to Z of.com.

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