What Determines the Prices of Gold Jewelry?

When shopping for gold and silver jewelry, there seems to be a wide range of prices for similar objects.  Jewelry purchased in a fine jewelry store may cost much more than jewelry purchased online or through catalogs.  One obvious reason is that a store has much more overhead than online stores or catalogs, but jewelry stores also have the face-to-face customer service that customers may find reassuring.   

"PURE" GOLD

Gold is often the first choice of metal for rings, necklaces, pendants, and bracelets because of the appeal of its rich yellow color.  In its purest form, 24 karat (K) gold is soft, malleable and easily damaged, which is why it is usually combined with other metals to form a more durable alloy.  The number of parts per 24 is how this precious metal is designated, and is called "pure" even though there are other metals in the alloy.

• 22K (91.6%) is 22 parts gold per 24 parts total
• 18K (75%) is 18 parts gold per 24 parts total
• 14K (58.5%) is 14 parts gold per 24 parts total
• 10K (41.7%) is 10 parts gold per 24 parts total

Yellow gold is alloyed with silver and copper.  White gold has silver, palladium, or nickel in the mix, while Rose gold has copper, giving it a pinkish tone.

It would seem that the more pure gold in the alloy, the greater the cost would be.  But there are other factors involved too.

GOLD TYPES

Gold filled or plated means that a thin layer of the metal has been bonded to another metal, often sterling silver.  It must be at least 10% of the total weight of the item.

Vermeil (pronounced "vur-may") is the process of bonding a combination of silver and gold to a piece.  Developed in France in the 18th century, it was called "gilt" and used fire to gild the object.  Now electroplating is used, and must be at least 10K and 1.5 micrometers thick.  With much use, electroplating will wear off.

Gold leaf is very thin, hammered foil that is glued to an object.  In the past, statues, furniture and even buildings were so leafed.

The purity of gold in jewelry must always be stated so that you know what you are getting. To compare two items ounce per ounce cannot be an accurate measure of value because of the labor, artistic design, and of course, the jeweler's markup.

Other factors may include whether there is a stone in the setting.  There can be a wide variance of quality, size, cut, and setting of stones that will make straight-across comparisons difficult.  If you are not sure of the company you are buying from, there are certifications, endorsements, and business licenses that will let you know the performance history of the company.