How to Tell if Gold is Real?

Gold doesn't rust or corrode because it doesn't react with water or oxygen. Since gold retains its luster for a long time, it is the most preferred metal for making jewelry. However, pure gold is soft and it is not durable enough for everyday use. So jewelers normally mix other metals in gold to create a sort of alloy to make it a little stronger. Moreover, jewelry that looks like gold can be gold−plated or gold−filled.

Purity of gold is measured in Karats. 24K gold is the purest form, but due to its delicate nature, its rarely used in jewelry. Most people commonly prefer to have jewelry made of 10K, 14K, 18K, 22K, and 23K gold. Normally jewelry items come with stampings and hallmarking; for example, 22K hallmarked gold ornament will have the "BIS 916" stamping and 23K gold will have "BIS 958". In India, it's compulsory for retailers to sell only hallmarked gold items. But, what if you possess a gold ornament without any marking? How would you test its purity and fineness? In this tutorial, we will show you simple methods that you can use to test the purity of gold at home.

Method 1: Test If It Floats or Sinks in Water

It is the simplest method to differentiate real gold from a fake one. Take a glass of water and drop the gold article in it. If it is real gold, then it will sink to the bottom due to its weight. On the other hand, if the gold is plated or artificial, then it will float on the surface. But, this test is of no use to test the purity of gold.

Method 2: Test If It Reacts with Vinegar

Vinegar is a very mild acid and testing your gold article with vinegar is absolutely safe. Remember gold is one of the least reactive metals and it doesn't react with most alkalis and acids.

Take the jewelry that you want to test and put it flat on a table. Pour some vinegar solution on it and wait for a few minutes to see if it changes color. If it keeps shining without any discoloration,

then what you have is a genuine gold article. If the metal reacts with vinegar, then you will see some discoloration which is a proof that the gold is not pure.

Method 3: Test If It Gets Pulled by a Magnet

Gold is a non−magnetic material. Pure gold will not be attracted by a magnet. For this method to work, you need a strong magnet. Keep your gold ornament on a flat surface. Hold the magnet and slowly move it towards the gold ornament. If the gold gets attracted towards the magnet, then it is not pure. On the other hand, if the gold is pure, then it will remain unaffected by the gradual advance of the magnet.

Method 4: Test If It Reacts with Acid

You can use this method to spot a counterfeit and also test the purity of gold. You need to get an Acid Testing Kit to apply this method, but make sure that you follow the instructions given in the

Kit. We advise not to use this method at home, unless you are very sure about what you are doing, because strong reagents can cause permanent damage to your gold ornament.

Hold the gold article in your hand and scratch a tiny surface using a small needle. Now take the dropper from the Testing Kit and use it to inject a small quantity of acid onto the scratched surface. Observe carefully how the color of the scratched surface changes after reacting with the acid and then match the color with the Color Card provided in the Testing Kit to find out which metal has been used as the alloy and what is the purity of gold.

Method 5: Test If It Leaves a Gold Streak on a Ceramic Tile

Take an unglazed ceramic tile and rub your gold ornament gently on the surface of the tile. Rub it only gently because you don't want to damage the gold. If it leaves a black streak on the surface of the tile, then the gold that you have is not pure. Pure gold will leave a gold streak on the surface.

Method 6: Test If It Discolors Your Skin

Instead of rubbing the gold on a ceramic tile, you can rub it on your skin. If the gold is impure, then the metal that is mixed with gold will react with the sweat on your skin and this chemical reaction will leave a mild dark or green color on the skin. Pure gold, in contrast, will not discolor your skin.

Method 7: Test the Density of Gold

This test is simple and you can perform it at home without causing any damage to your gold article. All that you need is a weighing scale that can measure the weight in grams and a measuring glass (container) with precise markings in milliliters.

To find the density of your gold, first use the scale to measure its weight in grams. Note down the weight. Next, fill up the container with water and record the initial level. Then put the gold item slowly into the container and record the final level of water. Subtract the initial level from the final level, which will give you the volume of water displaced by gold. Divide the volume of water displaced by the weight in grams to get the density of your gold.

So, if your gold weighs 20 grams and it displaces a volume of 2 ml of water, then its density will be (20 gm ÷ 2 ml = 10 gm/ml). The density of pure 24K gold is 19.3 gm/ml. The closer is your final reading to this value (19.3 gm/ml), the better is the purity of your gold.

Conclusion

No doubt, you can use the methods that we suggested in this tutorial to test whether the gold articles that you have are made of real gold or just counterfeits or rolled gold; however you should note that none of these methods are fool−proof. If you really want to test the purity of a gold ornament, then we recommend that you take some professional help.

Take your gold ornament to a Jeweler. They would have gold testing machines such as electronic testers or an XRF spectrometer to calculate the purity of gold in a scientific manner. These machines pass either X−rays or electromagnetic waves through the gold to quickly identify whether your gold article is genuine or just a counterfeit.