Precious Noble Metals: Gold, Silver, & Platinum
Discover the Majesty of Noble Metals: Gold, Silver, and Platinum
The Earth's matter is composed of a vast array of elements, but only a select few are considered noble metals. Gold, Silver, and Platinum hold this esteemed title, characterized by their remarkable resistance to oxidation and corrosion.
Gold: The Supreme Noble Metal
Among the noble metals, gold stands as the supreme symbol of allure, desire, and wealth. Throughout history, it has been the driving force behind empires' rise and the cause of civilizations' fall.
Gold's Remarkable Durability and Workability
Gold's endurance is remarkable; it can withstand hot chlorine bleach, selenic acid in water, hot cyanide solutions, and mixtures of nitric and hydrochloric acids. Its enduring quality makes it a highly durable precious metal. Gold is also incredibly workable, being the most ductile and malleable of all metals. Just one ounce of gold can be stretched into a wire thread over 50 miles long.
Pure gold is expensive and soft; metalworkers alloy gold with at least one other metal. Karat refers to the relative fineness of gold in the alloy. It tells the number of parts, by weight, of gold in 24 parts of alloy. The gold content of an alloy is indicated by Karat stamping.
| KARAT | PARTS GOLD | GOLD PURITY | FOREIGN STAMPING |
| 6K | 6/24 | 25.0% | 250 |
| 8K | 8/24 | 33.3% | 333 |
| 9K | 9/24 | 37.5% | 375 |
| 10K | 10/24 | 41.7% | 417 |
| 12K | 12/24 | 500% | 500 |
| 14K | 7/12 | 58.3% | 583/585 |
| 15K | 5/8 | 62.5% | 625 |
| 18K | 3/4 | 75.0% | 750 |
| 20K | 5/6 | 83.5% | 833 |
| 21K | 7/8 | 87.5% | 875 |
| 22K | 11/12 | 91.6% | 916 |
| 24K | 24/24 | 99.9% | 999 |
Silver - has drawbacks, it tarnishes easily, and if you neglect it, it will turn almost black. Silver is less durable than gold or platinum, but is a more solid heat conductor which makes it harder to work with than other metals. Silver has a nice feel to it and takes a high polish.
Sterling Silver - must be at least 92.5% pure (The rest is usually copper)
The Platinum Group - Platinum is rarer than gold. Its grayish-white color and non-tarnishing quality makes it a preferred setting for colorless diamonds. Platinum occurs in association with other rare metallic elements known as the platinum group of metals. Jewelry platinum is usually 90% platinum and 10% iridium.