Gold has always had a certain allure about it and jewellery manufactured from gold is now more popular than ever. This is mainly because of the versatility of the material. There are so many types of gold to choose from and a good range of colours to suit every taste. Gold necklaces are particularly sought after as elegant pieces of jewellery.

The first thing to note when you go to buy your gold necklace is the karatage, spelt caratage in Europe and Karatage in America. This relates to the amount of pure gold contained within the piece. The highest purity of gold is 24 carat, however this grade of gold has long since been considered too soft to make fine jewellery. Unfortunately because of the softness of the metal it is not very durable and prone to scratching. In order to make gold more durable and suitable for
everyday wear, alloys are added to strengthen it. When different coloured alloys are added, different coloured gold results. For example, by adding a larger amount of copper to gold you can achieve rose gold or red gold, or you can achieve white gold by combining silver with pure gold.

Most gold sold on the market today has a carat value not less than 9 carat. As you go up in carat value the amount of pure gold in the piece is increased. 14 carat gold is considered a medium grade of gold and particularly good for everyday wear. This makes it ideal for using in the production of necklaces. When you are going to buy your gold necklace you must always make sure that the piece is hallmarked or stamped, this will ensure its authenticity. It should be stamped with “14K, 14C” or the mark “585”. This number refers to the amount of pure gold in the necklace.