All that glitters may not be gold but this precious metal has caught the fancy of beauty loving individuals from the very dawn of civilization. Gold has been a measure for quality, beauty, and wealth too. It is therefore rare to find a bride without gold jewellery even now. However, pure gold straight from the mine is impossible to mould into jewellery, so you do need to use an alloy of gold to fashion it into artful and aesthetically pleasing shapes. The value of gold, however, depends on its purity. Carat or karat is the unit for measuring purity of gold. So, it is the 22ct gold jewellery that is deemed to be most valuable while 18ct and 9ct gold are considered to be much less in value hence relatively inexpensive. 18ct gold jewellery is much harder and durable than pure gold, however, and can be worn daily.
18ct gold is considered to be a good and value worthy metal for jewellery although it contains about 75% pure gold. The remaining 25% is made up of either silver or copper, often containing a mixture of other metals as well. It is commonly used for fancy jewellery or as the basis of certain electronic goods. The colour of 18ct gold is a trifle duller than pure gold and may become tarnished with age. Many jewellers therefore offer 18ct gold in a variety of other colours apart from yellow. The mixture of gold and copper forms the gorgeous warm coloured rose gold that has a great demand as gifts on occasions like birthdays and Valentine’s Day. The white gold is made by mixing nickel and gold is a stark, white in colour and serves well as the base metal for gem studded jewellery.
9ct gold, on other hand, contains only 9 parts of gold and its purity is only 37.5% with other metals like nickel, zinc, tin, silver, and palladium being present in the alloy. While the 18ct or 18k gold is treated as gold everywhere in the world, jewellery made of 9ct gold are not considered to be made of gold in the United States of America.
The 9ct gold has its share of advantages too. The cost of 9ct is much less per gram than the 18ct gold for instance and it is more durable and will not be scratched easily unlike its 18ct counterpart. A piece of 9ct gold jewellery will look lustreless in comparison, however.