Decorate your body with various accessories people have always loved. If many years ago beads, chains, bracelets, rings and earrings were worn primarily as religious amulets 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, as many years ago, precious metals have the greatest value for people. One of them is pure gold. Particularly popular are products made from such material in the territory of modern Russia. A reasonable question: "How does this type of metal differ from the entire group, united under the name "gold"?" Let's find out.
Metric and carat systems
It's worth starting with the fact that all over the world there are four options for differentiating a gold sample. However, the two most common and most used are carat and metric.
The first system has gained wide popularity in Europe, some Asian countries and the United States. The principle of determining a sample of precious metal is as follows. The entire volume of the material is divided into 24 parts. Depending on the proportion of gold content in the product, a carat is assigned to it. If “14K” is engraved on the product, it means that out of 24 parts of the product, 14 are 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, starting from the content of nine parts of gold in the alloy and ending with pure 100% precious metal. Also, pieces of jewelry 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 using the example of a 750 sample product. Based on the calculation system, in this case, a kilogram of alloy will contain 250 grams of ligature. The rest is in the precious metal. There are 6 metric grades, the highest of which is 999 fine. In descending order, 950, 750, 585, 500 and 375 marks are distinguished. At present, alloys with a different content of ligature and precious metal are becoming more widespread.
Polish "Red Zloty"
An experienced jeweler can determine by eye where and in what country this or that product was produced. And it's not about the gold itself. Precious material by its nature is exactly the same everywhere. However, many years ago,the territory of modern Poland, the term "chervonny 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 by this principle that ordinary people determined the quality of the metal. Hence the name "pure gold", denoting the highest quality material.
Copper as a ligature
However, our old Russian craftsmen still tried to deceive the client, at least a little. So they started adding copper to create the reddish color that the customer wanted. According to its properties, this ligature has a reddish tint, 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.
Hearts and precious metals - what's the connection?
The history of Russia also has its own version of the answer to the question of what pure gold is. A few centuries ago, red worms were widely used in Russia. They were used to obtain an organic dark color scheme. At the same time, the similar term “worm” began to be used, that is, to paint red. Over time, this concept has changed and only the concept of "red" has come down to us.
In the territory of Ancient Russia, coins were widely used as a means of payment. One of them was a chervonets. At the same time, it was made of gold of the highest standard. To find out is notIf the coin was a fake, it was heated. If ligatures were present in the mixture, the kruglyash darkened. And if it was of the highest standard, then the color became only slightly reddish. Therefore, to characterize gold of the best quality, people began to use the term "pure gold", that is, genuine, original, without impurities precious metal. Currently, this name is used for the most part only in everyday life.
Sample of pure metal
Almost all masters of jewelry technology in Russia add copper to the gold alloy. At the same time, for products of the highest quality, the content of the ligature is limited by the framework. The total volume should contain no more than 10% of secondary metal. And only then can we say that such an alloy is pure gold. The sample of a product made from this material cannot be lower than 916. An interesting point is that in its pure form this precious metal is very soft. A small ring, earring, or other piece of jewelry that is 999 fine 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, craftsmen are forced to increase the mass of the material used, which, in turn, affects the weight of the finished item. So, an ordinary wedding ring made of real 999 pure gold can weigh 8 or more grams. In order to reduce the consumption of precious material and reduce the cost of the product, jewelers use impurities.
Issue price
Those who want to become the owner of a product made of pure metal will have to face conflicting answers to the question: "How much is pure gold?" And the point here is the following. The World Bank has a gold and foreign exchange reserve. Every day, stock exchanges hold auctions, where the purchase and sale of cash, securities and precious metals is carried out. Depending on supply and demand, final prices are set for a unit of each world currency, a gram of gold, silver, platinum, etc. Moreover, this 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 content of the precious metal in the total volume, the greater its value.
