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About 22 Karat Gold
Since gold market prices refer to the cost of buying pure gold, buying and selling 22 karat gold can be a little confusing. 22 karat gold is alloyed with slightly higher levels of other precious metals, such as copper or silver, than that found in 24 karat gold. The additional metals protect the elemental gold from normal wear and tear. It’s like spending $1.50 to buy 12 ounces of Coca-Cola in a can, versus spending $1.50 to buy a Coca-Cola in a glass with ice. Your beverage looks different and has a different heft in your hand, but you’re still just buying the soda.
There is almost no gold to be found within the global marketplace that is really one hundred percent “pure” gold. Elemental gold is just too easily worn down and scratched to be practical. This is why, for the purposes of making jewelry, 24kt gold is considered to be “pure,” while 22 karat gold, being alloyed with stronger metals and not being quite as subject to damage as 24k, may be a little more sensible.
22kt gold is still very soft and malleable, however, in comparison to other alloys with less gold. The color will vary according to exactly what the alloy consists of; “rose” gold, for instance, is the result of an alloy with a higher copper content. Since items made of 22 carats gold, such as fine jewelry, can still break quite easily, a lot of people find themselves stuck with irreparable items that, because of their 22 ct gold content, are functionally useless while still being valuable.
We Buy 22 Karat Gold
Cash4Gold is actively seeking to purchase any and all 22 carat gold items you may wish to sell, regardless of the items’ condition or function. We are happy to assist you in selling any 22 carat gold JEWELLERY you may no longer have a purpose for, including (but certainly not limited to) 22 carat gold rings and 22 carat gold chains.
The “karat” (abbreviated variously, for instance, as “22k gold” “22c gold,” “22kt gold,” or “22ct gold”) is one measurement of the purity of a gold alloy. In the United States and Canada, the spelling “karat” is used, while the spelling “carat” is used to refer to the measure of a gemstone’s mass. The karat system quantifies gold purity in fractions of 24, such that the term “22k” refers to an alloy with 91.6% (22 parts per 24) pure gold by mass.
Another system of measuring gold purity is “millesimal fineness,” or parts per thousand of pure metal by mass in an alloy, usually rounded to three figures. In this system, an alloy containing 91.6% gold would be denoted as “916.” Many European countries use the percentage hallmark stamps (i.e., ‘585,’ ‘750,’ etc.), rather than ‘14K,’ ‘18K,’ etc., which is used in the United States.
The most common millesimal finenesses and their karat equivalent in hallmarking gold items are as follows:
a. 999.99 = 99.999% pure gold.
b. 999.9 = 99.99% pure gold.
c. 999 = 99.9% pure gold. Equivalent to 24k gold. Also known as “three nines fine.”
d. 995 = 99.5% pure gold.
e. 990 = 99.0% pure gold. Equivalent to 23k gold. Also known as “two nines fine.”
f. 916 = 91.6% pure gold. Equivalent to 22k gold.
g. 833 = 83.3% pure gold. Equivalent to 20k gold.
h. 750 = 75% pure gold. Equivalent to 18k gold.
i. 625 = 62.5% pure gold. Equivalent to 15k gold.
j. 585 = 58.5% pure gold. Equivalent to 14k gold.
k. 417 = 41.7% pure gold. Equivalent to 10k gold.
l. 375 = 37.5% pure gold. Equivalent to 9k gold.
m. 333 = 33.3% pure gold. Equivalent to 8k gold and generally a minimum requirement for gold content in order for an item to be hallmarked as gold.
A “hallmark” is an official mark, or series of marks, struck on precious metal items in order to validate their level of purity. In 1973, a core group of European nations signed a trade agreement at the Vienna Convention on the Control of the Fineness and the Hallmarking of Precious Metal Objects, in an attempt to develop internationally recognized standards for the inspection and validation of precious metals. When items made out of precious metals are “assayed” (inspected and found to be in conformity by the qualifying office of a signatory country), they receive a mark known as the Common Control Mark (CCM), which attests to their material fineness. The multi-tiered motif of the CCM’s hallmark for gold is a balanced scale superimposed on two intersecting circles. A stamp reading “22k” or “999” would be stamped in between the hanging scales, in the case of 22 carat gold. Price points on the open market can vary greatly, so it is important to buy 22 carat gold jewelry from a merchant that you trust, rather than just trusting the hallmark stamp.
Unfortunately, even countries that have implemented strict hallmarking standards can have less strict standards of enforcement. Since the amounts of money at stake in transactions often makes it difficult for one country to accept another’s hallmarking as equivalent to its own, it is important to be extremely wary in buying and selling 22 ct gold overseas. Unless you are able to conduct scientific analysis of your gold yourself, the appearance and the hallmark of the gold are going to be your best methods of evaluating gold purity until you can have it assessed at a facility such as ours here at Cash4Gold.
Cash4Gold take the process of “assay” (testing all items for precious metal content) very seriously, because we buy all precious metal items at rates in accordance with that content. As we have already discussed, it is unfortunate that stamped hallmarks can’t always be trusted. In the unforeseen event that there is any question concerning the quality of the gold measured by the electronic tester, we at Cash4Gold will diligently perform further tests and provide you with any and all information that we ourselves obtain. In fact, we have three completely separate methods of assaying the alloy content of your 22 karat gold.
Electronic Testing:
When Cash4Gold first receives your gold, each piece is separately subjected to testing by a state-of-the art electronic device that quickly and accurately outputs the purity of your item (measured in karats) on its digital display screen.
Scratch or Touchstone Testing:
The Scratch, or Touchstone, method of testing gold purity is the oldest method used in the jewelry industry, and is especially well-suited to the testing of very valuable pieces. Differences in precious metal content as small as 10 to 20 parts per thousand can often be established with confidence by the test. This method of testing is not indicated for use with white gold.
X-ray fluorescence:
The modern X-ray fluorescence method of gold alloy testing has an accuracy of 2-5 parts per thousand. The results are automatically printed out, which is reassuring for those who may feel uncertain about selling their gold and want to make sure they are getting the best price possible.
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