Gold Karat Information

Since ancient times, the purity of gold has been defined by the term karat, which is 1/24 part of pure gold by weight. Pure gold is equivalent to 24K. Gold purity may also be described by its fineness, which is the amount of pure gold in parts per 1000. For example, a gold ring containing 583 fine gold has 583 parts

(58.3%) gold and 417 parts

(41.7%) of other base metals.

Federal Trade Commission rules

require that all jewelry items

sold in the United States as gold

shall be described by "a correct

designation of the karat fineness

of the alloy."

Weighing Precious Metals

The weight of a piece of jewelry is a factor that

helps to determine its value. It is important

because it is an indication of the purity in an

item of jewelry. While Grams (g) and

pennyweights (dwt) are the units of weight

most commonly used in weighing precious

metals, We Buy Gold uses the pennyweight

standard (dwt). Precious metals are almost always weighted in the troy system of weights, where one pound troy equals twelve troy ounces and twenty pennyweights equals one troy ounce. The Avoirdupois weight system, where one pound equals 16 ounces, is used in the United States for most everything except precious metals. The following table summarizes useful weight conversions.