The value of Gold and Silver is determined on a ever changing market sometimes by the second. Let’s start with Gold percentages. It is a good idea to know the gold content of marked jewelry and other gold items. It is very important for anyone who wishes to buy or sell gold jewelry, bullion and rare gold coins. Below see the chart:
9k or 9 karat gold contains 38% gold – 10k or 10 karat gold contains 41.7% gold
12k or 12 karat gold contains 50% gold – 14k or 14 karat gold contains 58.3% gold
16k or 16 karat gold contains 67% gold – 18k or 18 karat gold contains 75% gold
22k or 22 karat gold contains 91.6% – 24k or 24 karat gold is 100% pure gold.
The mark .999 or .999 fine also means pure gold (100%).
When someone tells you the piece is solid 14k gold that does not mean it is 100% pure gold. 14K is 58.3% pure gold the rest are other metals and alloys.
Silver is also has markings. The most common is sterling silver. sterling silver is marked sterling or .925. Sterling means the item is 92.5% pure silver. If an item is marked 800, that means the item is 80% silver. If you run into silver jewelry or flatware that says coin or coin silver then the item is 90% pure. .999 or .9999 is pure silver.
Gold and Silver weight is measured in troy ounces. Troy ounces is different than ounces on a postage scale. There is 31.103 grams in 1 troy ounce. there is 20 penny weights (dwt) is 1 troy ounce. there are 12 troy ounces in 1 pound, not 16. I have seen many people get taken advantage of from this. Just remember all precious metals are based on a troy ounce measurement system. Whether a person go by grams, dwt’s, or whatever, it’s all just part of the troy ounce system.