Testing gold purity
Having the capability to blue book the purity of gold is decisive for anyone who is involved with buying or selling gold. Dispassionate since an baggage is stamped as 10 carat, 14 carat or 18 carat does not beggarly that it de facto contains that type of gold. It is a downcast actuality that fakes exist in the gold bazaar, principally considering gold jewellery has practically no edict or oversight. Sometimes a lower superiority of gold Testament be stamped with a higher-grade marking, or other times it may not be gold at all, nevertheless rather layered with gold in such a plan that it is not now obvious that it is a plated protest. To protect your investment against forgeries and to produce decided you are getting the gold you get, it is conspicuous to attempt the purity of the gold. There are mild methods you can act Homewards without sending your gold gone to an assayer's labour.
Instructions
1. Contemplate the gold thing that you would akin to comp. Double o it over carefully for any identifying marks, such as 10k, 14k, 18k and so forth. This is through the evaluation indicator and acidic impression Testament vary according to how many karats (k) the gold is, so whether you can distinguish what it is striking as, you will have the most logical place to begin.
2.5. Use the acid solution that corresponds to the test needle. For instance, if you are testing with a 14-karat test needle, then use the 14-karat gold solution, or use an 18-karat solution if you used the 18-karat test needle, etc.
3. Scratch the test needle against the touchstone. It should be a firm scratch, but at the same time, you should not scratch like mad across the entire surface of the touchstone. That will only result in needing to buy a new touchstone every time you test the purity of gold. Just a small, firm scratch with the test needle is all that is required.
4. Use the gold item you are testing to make a second scratch, next to the one that was made with the test needle. The result is that your test stone now has two scratches. Ideally, these scratches will be located side-by-side for easier analysis.
Pick up the touchstone and the test needle that corresponds to the marking on the gold. For instance, if you want to test the purity of an item that is marked as 14 karat, you will want to use a 14 karat test needle. Because the test needle is from a known source that is proven to be 14 karat, it can be used for comparative analysis. Because each acid solution is developed to work with a specific gold purity level, it is important to use the right acid. Simply drip one or two drops on the scratches you made with your needle and the test item.
6. Analyze the results. The scratches should appear to change color in reaction to the acid that has been dripped on them. If the color of the scratch from the test needle is the same as the color generated by the scratch from the test item, then you have a positive identification. If the colors do not match, then repeat the process using a different test needle and acidic solution.
