People have always loved to decorate their bodies with various accessories. If many years ago, beads, chains, bracelets, rings and earrings were worn primarily as religious charms and talismans, now it is part of fashion. Time changes tastes and preferences. Organic natural materials, widely used in jewelry, harmoniously coexist with laboratory developments. However, precious metals, as many years ago, have the greatest value for people. One of them is pure gold. Particularly popular products made of such material received in the territory of modern Russia. A reasonable question: "What is the difference between this type of metal and the entire group, united under the name of" gold "?" Let's figure it out.
Metric and carat systems
It is worth starting with the fact that all over the world there are four options for differentiating a sample of gold. However, the most common and most used are two: carat and metric.
The first system has gained wide popularity in Europe, some Asian states and in the USA. The principle of determining a precious metal sample is as follows. The entire volume of material is divided into 24 parts. Depending on the proportion of the content in the gold product, a carat is assigned to it. If “14K” is engraved on the product, this means that out of 24 parts of the product, 14 is gold. The rest is an additional alloy. Or, as jewelers call it, a ligature. In this system, a product can have one of five samples, ranging from the content in the alloy of nine parts of gold and ending with a pure 100% precious metal. Also, jewelry items can have samples of ten, fourteen and eighteen carats.
In Russia, the metric system is common. That is, jewelers calculate the gold content in one kilogram of the alloy. Let us explain an example of a 750 product sample. Based on the calculation system, in this case, a kilogram of the alloy will contain 250 grams of ligature. The rest is precious metal. There are 6 metric samples, the highest of which is 999 samples. In the descending order, 950, 750, 585, 500 and 375 brands are distinguished. At present, alloys with a different content of ligature and precious metal are becoming more widespread.
Polish "red zloty"
An experienced jeweler by eye can determine where and in which country a particular product was produced. And it's not about the gold itself. Precious material is inherently the same everywhere. However, many years ago, in the territory of modern Poland, the term "pure red zloty" was widely used, which meant "red-hot." And it is true. If pure gold is heated to a certain temperature, it begins to oxidize and slightly changes its color - it becomes reddish. For a long time, it was precisely by this principle that ordinary people determined the quality of metal. Hence the name “pure gold”, denoting the highest quality material.
Copper as a ligature
However, our Old Russian craftsmen nevertheless tried to deceive the client at least a little bit. Therefore, to create the desired reddish color, they began to add copper. By its properties, this ligature has a reddish hue, which it willingly "shares" with the base metal. Over time, people began to use the name “pure gold” as a characteristic of a product with a small admixture of copper.
Worms and precious metals - what's the connection?
The history of Russia also has its own answer to the question of what is pure gold. A few centuries ago, red worms were widely used in Russia. They were used to produce organic dark color. At the same time, the similar term “worm” began to be used, that is, painted in red. Over time, this concept has undergone changes and only the concept of “pure red” has come down to us.
In ancient Russia, coins were widely used as a means of payment. One of them was a chervonets. Moreover, it was made of gold of the highest standard. To find out if the coin is fake, it was heated. If ligatures were present in the mixture, the round became dark. And if he was of the highest standard, then the color would become only slightly reddish. Therefore, to characterize the best quality gold, people began to use the term “pure gold”, that is, a genuine, original, precious metal without impurities. Currently, this name is used for the most part only in everyday life.
Sample of pure metal
Almost all the masters of jewelry technology in Russia add copper to the gold alloy. Moreover, for products of the highest quality, the content of the ligature is limited by the scope. In the total volume should be no more than 10% of the secondary metal. And only then can we say that such an alloy is pure gold. A sample of a product made of this material may not be lower than the 916th. An interesting point is that in its pure form this precious metal is very soft. A small ring, earrings, or other other piece of jewelry with 999 samples will be slightly or severely deformed. In order to prevent changes in the shape of products, without affecting the integrity and purity of the alloy, the craftsmen are forced to increase the mass of the material used, which, in turn, affects the weight of the finished object. So, an ordinary engagement ring made of real pure 999 pure gold can weigh 8 grams or more. In order to reduce the consumption of precious material and reduce the cost of the product, jewelers use impurities.
Issue price
Those wishing to become the owner of a pure metal product will have to face conflicting answers to the question: “How much does pure gold cost?” But the point is as follows. The World Bank has a gold and foreign exchange reserve. Daily stock exchanges conduct tenders where the purchase and sale of cash, securities and precious metals. Depending on supply and demand, final prices are established per unit of each world currency, grams of gold, silver, platinum, etc. Moreover, such a process is carried out daily. Thus, if today the price per gram of gold is set at 1,500 rubles, then tomorrow it may be lower. Or higher. It all depends on the exchange rate. The price per gram of pure gold is also influenced by this parameter. And, of course, it depends on the sample of the alloy: the higher the precious metal content in the total volume, the higher its value.