What Does K18 Mean On Jewelry?
If you have a couple of jewelry pieces, then you might have also noticed some codes and initials here and there, hidden inside the designs.
Have these hallmarks ever sparked curiosity for you? Sometimes it could be initial from a reputed brand while other times, it could simply tell about the metal contents used in its making.
Similarly, we currently have several customers wanting to know what K18 signifies in the jewelry industry – as for you, are you interested in the same?
What does K18 mean on jewelry? If you want to know, then all you have to do is continue reading this article.
What Does K18 Mean On Jewelry?
‘K’
The ‘K’ you see in the K18 term defines ‘karat’, known as ‘carat’ outside of the US. It is a unit that measures the purity of gold.
On a scale, 24 karat means pure gold, while other marks like 14 karat, 18 karat, and 22 karat are popular units, where the gold is mixed with other metals for several reasons.
‘18’
The ‘18’ you see in the K18 term represents the number of parts of pure gold in your gold jewelry.
For example, when we talk about 100% pure gold, it contains 24 parts of gold, which is called 24 karats, but in our case, the ‘18’ means 18 parts out of 24, which is also 75% out of 100%.
The above calculation simply means that 75% of your gold jewelry contains pure gold and the rest of the 25% is equipped with some other metal.
Defining K18 Together
When we see both the terms mentioned above together as K18, it simply means that the specific gold jewelry is made of 18 karat gold, also meaning that it has 75% pure gold, making it a little less valuable than 100% pure gold piece.
Other Metals
Since the 18 karat gold jewelry you possess has 75% pure gold, the rest of the 25% is equipped by other metals, also known as alloys, and each one has their own different purpose.
In the case of golden jewelry, when we talk about 18-karat gold, copper, zinc, nickel, silver, and palladium are a few of the popular metals that act as gold’s best alloy.
As for why people opt for 18-karat gold jewelry instead of pure gold pieces – having 25% of alloys in gold jewelry is beneficial in more ways than you think.
Specifically, it increases the durability where your piece is less likely to get scratched easily, increases in strength, which makes it harder to get damaged, and also gives off a different shade of yellow to your gold jewelry,
Final Words
In conclusion, the K18 hallmark you see on your jewelry specifies that it is made of 18-karat gold; including 75% pure gold mixed with 25% alloys.
That is all for this article, and we hope you have the correct answer to the question – What does K18 mean on jewelry?
Frequently Asked Questions
- Is K18 a real gold?
- Yes, the 18-karat gold jewelry you possess contains 75% pure and real gold, while the rest of the 25% are alloys.
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What does K18 mean on a necklace?
- The ‘K18’ you see on your necklace means that the necklace is made of 18-karat gold.
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What is the K18 mark on gold?
- The ‘K18’ mark on gold jewelry says that it is made of 18 karat gold, also known to be made of 75% pure gold and 25% other metals such as silver and copper.
