Fake Gold Or Real? A Few Hints and Tests

Gold is one of the most valuable metals in the world. Due to its valuable nature, the metal has attracted many unscrupulous traders who tend to sell fake gold items. The good news is that there are a number of things that you can do to ensure that you are able to differentiate real and fake gold. One of the best ways of telling the difference is by testing. Here are some best tests that you can do.

Touch stone acid testing

A touch stone is a black glass sheet. To test your gold you need to have samples of known ct/t gold to compare with. Here you need to take you unknown piece and run it on the touch stone until you leave a mark.

You should then run your known samples to the touch stone then apply the acids on the marks left by the unknown and known samples. If the sample is real gold, both the known and unknown samples will have the same reaction.

Acid testing the item directly

While the above method is effective in differentiating real from fake gold, it doesn't test what's really inside. To test the material inside, you need to go through the surface of gold using a blade or knife.

To retain the elegant nature of gold, you should go through an inconspicuous place. For example, if you have a chain or bracelet, the best place to go through is on the inside of links or clasps. You should then cut a small amount of the material and drop it in 9K acid.

• If you drop the gold in the acid and the cut turns brown, your sample is gold but it's less than your acid strength. To confirm you should try a lesser acid.

• If the cut goes green and bubbles, the sample you have might be copper or plated gold.

• If the acid goes milky white and the metal turns black, your sample is most likely silver.

• If the cut turns brown tarnish, your sample is most definitely solid gold.

Other than testing your gold, you should also be on the lookout for suspicious signs. One of the signs that you should be on the lookout for is:

Lack of discoloration: with time, plating wears off and the metal beneath may show. If you have been having your chain or bracelet for a long time and you can't see any discoloration, chances are that your chain is plated with another metal and not gold. Some of the best places to look are between the links and near the clasps where the pieces rub the most.