Real gold or not? Here’s the Midas touch

Just the other day my friend was in a big dilemma. The jewelry he was wearing, which he knew was made of gold, was questioned by someone: it wasn’t real, it was fake. How to find out? Here are the ways:

The friction test:

On the back of the doll, apply some liquid foundation. Apply a couple of strokes of powder. Rub the metal in question on it. We were told that real gold will show black marks. But since it involves a lot of rubbing, the skin gets irritated either way, so even though this is an easy test, we can’t really trust this one hundred percent.

The sink and float test:

Gold is heavy, so if the metal in question is floating, it’s definitely fake. But then depending on the shape of the jewelry, even brass or other metal can also sink. Therefore, this is also not foolproof.

The magnet test:

Bring a magnet close to the gold jewelry in question. The magnet does not attract gold, but its alloys do. Again, since gold jewelry has some alloy, we can’t be sure.

The pin test:

Gold is softer and more malleable than anything else. While other fake metals can break, gold won’t. So touching or pinching with a pin can give some clue.

The litmus test:

If the metal in question is touched with a drop of nitric acid, the following results may give us some clue.

If it is pure gold there will be no change. Gold will pass the acid test. If it turns green, it’s definitely fake. If it turns a little green, it means that it has some alloy that is natural. If there is milky foam, it is mixed with silver, or the metal can be vermeil.

Pure gold is 24 karat gold and to make gold jewelry it is necessary to mix it with some alloy or impurity. Now each carat is about 4.167% gold. In that sense, a 22k piece has 91% gold, a 14K piece has 58% gold. Anything above 10K is considered gold in the US Different countries have different acceptance rules regarding gold. In the US you can’t sell anything less than 10K if you want to call it gold.

Even though test kits are available at many jewelry stores (they are around $20-$30 in the price range), this nitric acid is quite dangerous and I would rather have it done by a professional person or jewelry store. When it comes to higher karat gold, Aqua Regia is usually used instead of nitric acid.

Jewelry stores will probably also help you know if it is a 22-karat, 18-karat or less-karat gold piece, since they have gold pieces with known karats. A test done with a touchstone (a special type of stone) and an acid solution can possibly determine the result.

I have written about this type of testing in more detail on my website along with information on gold-plated or gold-plated and gold-plated metals.

I hope this gives you an idea of ​​how to spot real gold from fake ones. Again, best when in doubt, take it to a good, trustworthy professional jeweler. They are usually helpful and can show you the result.