QuestionI am not A jeweler, however I love gold jewelry and have been collecting and buying it for over 25 yrs. I have recently run across fake gold and I would like to have your advise about how to tell real gold from fake? I found you through ask.com Thank You.
AnswerJohn, about the only way to tell if gold is real without using fancy equipment is to go to a reputable jeweler and have the items or items tested. The jeweler will use either an acid test or an electronic tester.
Acid tests have these components: Acids of various strength, generally nitric and hydrochoric acids. Test needles, which are simply a bunch of copper or brass fingers(flat but called needles) put together like a set of hex wrenches but smaller. Each finger is marked with a karat of gold and the tip has piece of that karat gold soldered to the end. The test needle is rubbed on a flat piece of slate rock. Then the item to be tested is rubbed on the slate, making sure the rubbing cuts deep enough into the item to be deeper than plating or gold filled would go. An acid in placed on the rubbed samples on the stone and by watching the reaction, you can start to isolate the item to "not gold" or gold of an unknown karat. Other test "needles" and stronger acids are used to test for higher karat. If less than the test mark, the mark from the item will dissolve in the acid. If higher karat, the mark from the test mark will dissolve first and a higher karat needle is used next.
The electronic testers use electricity and a special conductive gel to test for karat and metal. These are expensive.
If you want to try to test youself, I suggest the acid test kit for gold available from jewelry suppliers. Keep in mind, even in small amounts such acids are quite corrosive and can be dangerous to the skin and fumes are not to be breathed. Acids are acids are acids and not for casual "having around the house".
Let me know if you need more info. Thanks for this fine question.
God Bless and Peace. Thomas. Sept. 6, 2006 9:28pm
