It’s everyone’s secret dream to be at a moving sale or estate sale and stumble upon some beautiful jewelry that has been overlooked and find out it is an incredibly valuable piece of gold. We definitely hope that happens to you but how will you be able to tell if you are getting the real thing? We see items all the time that need to be appraised and verified as genuine gold or not. There are some easy secrets to check without having to know too much about the metal.
Hallmark
This is an easy one, basically when it was made someone took the time to make a mark that should tell you hey this is real. The hallmark is a stamp that can be found on almost all real gold that notes it’s karat and weight. 24k is pure gold but you will find others that say 10k or 14k that are still a real gold just a lower karat.
Water Test
Real gold is a heavy metal, therefore if you drop it in water it should sink to the bottom and not float at all. Any metal jewelry that is attempting to pass as gold but floats to the top is definitely not real gold.
Magnetic Test
If you are not aware, gold is not magnetic. Many of the metals that they try to pass as real gold, either using paint or some other coloration method are magnetic. When you use a magnet to the jewelry piece and it sticks to it that is an obvious indicator the piece is not real gold.
Appraisal
If you are uncertain and the opportunity is available having a professional appraiser determine its authenticity is the way to go. Then you won’t have any questions in your mind if it is real or not.