What is Caratage?

The millesimal fineness is usually rounded to a three figure number, particularly where used as a gold hallmark. For example, an alloy containing 75% gold is denoted as ‘750’, known as 18k gold. Read more on Antique Jewelry Marks here.

By Following these simple guidelines about caratage, you will be able to identify and period date Antique Gold Jewelry with more accuracy.

Karatage or Caratage - What's the Difference?

Britain, Canada, Australia, New Zealand, South Africa and other countries originating from the British Empire use the abbreviation ct for carat - as in 9 carat gold, or 9ct. South East Asia, China, Europe and the States use karat instead. Jewelry originating from theses countries are marked as 14k or 14k or 14kt etc.

The latter countries introduced the karat "kt" to simply differentiate the word carat (for gold quality) and carat (for gemstone weights). Diamonds, for example, are always weighed in carats and points. 100 points = 1 carat weight. One carat equals a fifth of a gram. The name ”carat” comes from a seed of the carob tree. The seed was called ”carubis” and had an approximate weight of about 0.2 grams.

To avoid confusion, "kt" or "k" as in 18k gold, will used for gold carat throughout Antique Jewelry Investor to avoid the confusion with gemstone weight.

There is however one International system that indicates the gold content. This will range anywhere from 8 up to the highest fineness of gold which is 24 k gold jewelry. In the past, it was not so simple.

Is fineness, or the caratage, really that important when investing in Antique Gold Jewelry? After all, Antique Victorian Jewelry, diamond set, was topped in silver. Well, the answer to that question is yes the content of gold, the fineness of the gold, does matter and this is why.

If you already invest in gold Antique Jewelry, then you are grinning from ear-to- ear, because you probably already know that gold prices have recently crossed $1,000 an once for the first time since 1980, a record high! Generally, the higher the gold content of the Antique Jewelry, the higher the antique appraisal value.

Since antiquity, throughout the History of jewelry, countries and governments have kept an eagle eye on their Gold reserves and some countries today only allow certain caratages to be even sold.

In the sixties, the Indian government prohibited people from buying gold bars and coins. You can read about it in Antique Indian Jewelry here.

In the United Kingdom, one can still make and sell 9, 14, 18 and 22 carat gold jewelry but not 12 as the latter is not even recognized by law.

And then again in other countries, such as Portugal, for example, Jewelry lower than 12 ct (50% gold or 500 fineness) cannot even be described as gold as 19.2 carats is the standard there. Today, the lowest recognized standard is 8 carats or 33.3% gold content which is in Germany.

Low Caratage Has Advantages!

Lower the gold content and the greater the strength and hardness over pure gold (999 fineness), leading to improved wear and scratch resistant properties, and jewelry less liable to distortion and damage.

Gold Jewelry remains as good as GOLD! It has been around for thousands and thousands of years and certain rules have evolved. I like to call them - GOLDEN RULES.

Golden Rules of Caratage

Gold prices are quoted based on pure gold, or 24 carats.

24 k gold jewelry is theoretically 100% gold.

All Antique Victorian Jewelry, Diamond-set was topped in silver to make the Diamonds appear whiter.

14 carat Gold was used for the screws and butterfly backs.

White Gold was substituted for Silver in ca. 1910.

In 1854 there was a monumental change to British hallmarking, by allowing the carat number plus the decimal point, ie. 9 with .375, 18 with.750 to be marked on Jewelry.

15ct gold was the Victorian favorite.

9 ct denotes modern British Jewelry.

In Chinese, 24 carat gold jewelry is also known as "Chuk Kam".

21 carat gold, fineness of 875 is the recognized standard in Arabic countries.

22 carat gold, fineness of 916 is the recognised standard in India and the sub continent.

Gold has a tendency to wear away over time and decrease in volume and weight when in use.

Before 1854 there were no 9ct, 12ct or 15ct Gold marked British Jewelry.

12 ct and 15 ct were discontinued in 1932 in Britain when the 14ct standard was introduced.

Platinum is over thirty times more rare than Gold.

The properties of Platinum allow for more intricate and finer jewelry designs than possible with Gold.

The content in Platinum is indicated in parts per thousand and not in carats as in Gold.

Unlike Gold, Platinum has not got a long history of use in Jewelry, anything earlier than 1900 is rare.

The hardness of platinum whilst being an attribute makes it very difficult to work from the jewellers perspective,and many more hours go into making and finishing a platinum piece of jewellery than one in any other precious metal.

If an item of gold is solid and sealed by solder joins, then any part of the item can be stamped, as the mark refers to all of it.

More Golden Rules will be added in the future. Bookmark this page and visit us often for updates.

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