When you want to sell gold jewellery for cash the most important factor you need to take into consideration is the purity of the gold the jewellery is made from. 100% Pure gold or 24k gold is very soft. This softness allows the metal to be malleable and very ductile which means it can be easily drawn into thin wire or to be hammered into thin sheets. This softness makes gold undesirable in the jewellery industry.

It is virtually impossible for a jeweller to fashion 24k gold into a piece of jewellery that has to grasp tightly onto precious stones like diamonds. To make gold more stronger and durable for jewellery, jewellers use gold that has been alloyed with other metals.

The alloy mixed with the pure gold will exhibit properties of the metals within. For instance, if gold is made of 2 parts silver with 22 parts gold produces 22karat or 91.67% pure gold. The silver increases the strength or hardness of the gold. From 22karats we have 18karats which, 14karats and 10karats. Gold alloys make the metal more durable to withstand the daily wear and tear. You can be assured that your gold will retain its shape and beauty for years.

The other reasons why 24karat gold isn’t used to make jewellery has to do with:

Colour and brightness

24karat gold is brighter and looks more orange than what most people expect gold jewellery to look like. It isn’t entire attractive to be used to make rings, bracelets, necklaces, watches and other gold jewellery.

Cost

Pure gold is expensive. It cost twice the amount of the most popular 14karat gold purity used in jewellery. This means that it costs more to make jewellery from 24karat gold which makes it more expensive to buy. However, it is the best gold to have when you want to sell gold jewellery for gold in future.

So what are the gold purity levels commonly used to make gold jewellery?

Gold jewellery is commonly made from 10k (41.7% gold), 14k (58.3%gold) and 18k (75% gold). Each one has its own advantages and disadvantages ranging from durability to the risk of certain purity levels creating skin irritations. The most durable of these is 10k. 14k is purer and more durable and 18k is the purest that is used for engagement rings and other high-end jewelry.

10karat gold

10k is made up of 58.3% gold alloy. It is the least pure and least expensive of 14k or 18 karats. It is durable. It is used to make affordable jewellery and is not preferred in the making of engagement rings or fine jewellery.

14karat gold

14karat gold is made of 58.3% pure gold and 41.7% which is a good mix of durability. However, it is more expensive than 10karat gold. It is popularly used to make rings in most countries. In fact, about 90% of engagement and wedding rings are made of 14karat.

18karat gold

18k is made of 75% gold. It is purer, expensive and practical, however it looks great. 18k has an attractive, rich appearance which is why it is used to make high-end jewellery and watches. This level of purity does not cause skin irritations like other gold types that usually contain nickel.

So, when you need some extra cash and you have jewellery lying around in your house, look at what the purity of your jewellery is. The more pure gold you have the more cash you are likely to get for it.