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Would you be able to tell if the gold you were given as a gift, or gold that you bought with your own money, was real or fake? You can’t always trust jewelers, so if you want to be 100% sure that your gold is the real thing, then you’ll need to take matters into your own hands. I’ve listed some steps here for testing your gold that anyone could do easily at home with little prep and with household items.
First here is a list of items needed for these tests: Scale, magnet, calculator, ceramic plate (unglazed), magnifying glass, vial, stainless steel container and nitric acid.
First things first
First the easiest and most practical test to do is the visual test. Simply take a magnifying glass and inspect the jewelry. Look for official markings such as a stamp that indicates karat size or fineness. But be aware that even counterfeits can be stamped with official looking stamps and older pieces may not have a marking due to wear and time.
Magnet Test
A simple test that you can perform is the magnet test. All you need to do is hold the magnet up to the gold and if your jewelry sticks to the magnet then you know that your gold piece is in fact not real gold. Real gold is not a magnetic metal.
Make sure you use an industrial strength magnet such as the type you find in a hardware store. A refrigerator magnet should not be used as it will not be strong enough.
Ceramic Plate Test
Another easy test that requires only an unglazed ceramic dish of some sort and the gold in question: Simply drag your gold across the dish and see what is left behind. If there is a black streak left behind then your gold is fake, but if a gold streak is left behind then you know that you have legitimate gold.
Acid Test
This next test can tend to be a little dangerous if safety precautions aren’t met. You’ll need a stainless steel container and nitric acid for this test. Nitric acid can be dangerous and not the easiest to come by, so you might consider making this test a test for your jeweler.
Drop your jewelry in the stainless steel container and drip some of the nitric acid onto your jewelry and see what, if any, reaction takes place. If you get a green or milky white reaction then your gold is fake, but if no reaction takes place then you have real gold.
Bite Test
For this test, all you need is your teeth. Simply place the gold in your mouth and bite down. If there are any marks left behind then you’ve struck gold! Gold is a soft metal so it is easily dented. If you can’t leave any impressions on your jewelry, then chances are it is not real gold.
These simple tests can tell you whether or not you have gold and give you an idea of the true value and worth of your jewelry.
Henry Hernandez is an experienced jeweler. He works for the Whole Sale Jeweler www.shopjewelryfactory.com. You can learn more about Henry and read more of his writings by checking out his Google+ Page.
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