How to tell if your ring is 14k white gold?
The most reliable way to test is by going to a jeweler who will use an electronic gold tester.
“I have just inherited a bunch of jewelry from my grandmother, but how can I know if it's real or not?”
In this situation we all want to believe that our grandfathers loved and cherished our grandmothers with expensive and real solid gold jewelry. Maybe you are faced with a mixed bag of jewelry where some of your grandmother's rings look fake, but for the most part they are solid gold rings, earrings and necklaces in the mix.
What each stamp means on your ring
Fine jewelry is usually stamped with a little number and letters like 10k, 18k, and 24k which all represent the gold content or purity of your ring. If you don't have these numbers then you might have a European ring which is marked as 585 for 14k and 750 for 18k jewelry. If you look at your ring and its not gold coloured but stamped with one of these marks then you have yourself a white gold ring!
In saying this there are a lot of letters and marks that can be found inside your rings which just makes everything so misleading and confusing for us all.
Marking meanings
Which is why we have created a list to break down the most common markings you will find and their meaning.
14K P (The “P” stands for plumb gold)
18K with a company logo after such as Brian Gavin 18K)
417 (10K = 41.7% gold, mixed with other alloys)
585 (14k = 58.5% gold, mixed with other alloys)
750 (18K = 75% gold, mixed with other alloys)
917 (22K = 91.7% gold, mixed with other alloys)
999 (24K = 99.9% gold, as pure as it gets)
Your jewels are not real gold if you see these markings
14K 1/20 (1/20 gold is basically gold-filled)
14K G.F. = Gold Filled
14K G.P. = Gold Plated
14K H.G.E. = Hydrostatic Gold Electroplate
14K G.E.P. = Gold Electroplate
.925 = Sterling Silver
An alloy stamp doesn’t guarantee authenticity
Fine jewelry is usually stamped with a little number and letters like 10k, 18k, and 24k which all represent the gold content or purity of your ring.
Now ladies, just because a ring has a gold stamp on it doesn't mean that it actually is real, there are fakes and doops out there. This is a sure problem that will aggravate your local cash for gold converter, drives them crazy!
On a better note, there are cases where real gold or silver has not been marked because not all manufacturers bother to stamp their goods.
With this combination you never really know what hand you will be dealt so it is always safest to go to your local jeweler or a qualified jeweler to confirm or deny its authenticity.
How can I tell if it’s real?
So many people want to know how they can test to see if their jewels are real or fake. For instance you might have a piece of gold jewelry that you want to get tested because it hasn’t been marked!
Always go to the professionals for the best results (and most accurate) you can always google at home jobs on how to test but we don’t think you will find them very trustworthy. The most reliable way to test is by going to a jeweler who will use an electronic gold tester. This is probably the best and most time efficient way of testing as it doesn’t require you to do an at home DIY with chemicals and cleaning.
Or even so you could buy your own if you find yourself testing a lot of your jewelry that you buy or get handed down. These do retail for a pricier amount though at approximately $325, whilst they are a high percentage for accurate testing nothing will ever be 100% fool proof.
The best way to test gold
After some digging we have had a look into the best way to test to see if your gold heirlooms are real gold and the simplest way about it. Gold markings are hallmarks from the manufacturer to represent its worth and this is a reputable way of knowing if it's real. Depending on where you got your ring from will depend on how easy it is to decipher this. This is because brand may be a great indicator to if its real or not, over say getting your ring from a market or hand me down.
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