A couple of weeks ago we had discussed different ways in which gold content is assessed when purchasing pieces from the general public. We wrote of acid tests, electronic gold testers, magnificaton and the magnet test, all of which are somewhat effective but not entirely accurate. Today we will continue and discuss discoloraton and the density test or weight test.
Discoloration – If the piece is discolored, particularly around the edges, there is a strong chance the piece is not gold.
The weight of this piece, neatness of the 18 karat hallmark was good. The color was poor and otherwise not well made.
After testing in our lab, this piece was determined to be 58.02% gold which is not 18 karat.
The Deniity Test – Weigh your piece on a scale and record the weight. Reset the scale to zero and fill a vial 3/4 with water and put it on the scale. Place your piece in the water withou splashing and take note of the new water level in millimeters. Calculate the difference in water levels before and after submerging the object. Divide the mass of the object by its volume to yield the density. Compare to the density of pure gold (19.3 g/cc) to determine whether or not the object is pure.
The hallmark on this rin says 10 karat. If this was true 10 karat, the color would be much lighter.
This ring is, in fact, mostly chromium.
