A delicate 14 Karat antique gold ring with cameo stone.

14 & 18 Karat Gold

Gold is a rare naturally occurring element. Gold is extremely malleable and therefore an ideal material for making fine jewelry. 14K gold is a mixture consisting mainly of gold, mixed with durable metals such as zinc, nickel and copper, along with a rhodium layer. Gold is relatively soft on its own, so the alloying metals enhance its composition. Pure 24K gold is extremely soft, making it easy to scratch and bend. 14 Karat specifically refers to the metal mix which is 58.3% gold compared to 18 Karat which is 75% gold. With 14K gold, the metal is beautiful but also durable for everyday use. With 18 carat gold, more gold is used, which means that it has a richer gold color, but is less durable. 18 karat gold will not last as long and that’s why most gold jewelry is made with 14 karat gold.

The stamp applied to a gold piece of jewelry is called a ‘hallmark’. Hallmark laws date back to the 13th century and were historically used to protect gold buyers. Often 14 karat gold rings are marked with ‘585’ and 18 karat gold rings with ‘750’, referring to the percentage of gold present in the ring. The quality marks may differ per country and per period. Many producers and jewelers use slightly more gold than 58.3%. That is why the hallmark of 14 karat gold is not 583 but 585.

Cameo

Cameo is a method of carving an object such as an engraved gem or piece of jewelry. It features a raised relief image. Originally cameo only referred to works where the relief image was of a contrasting color to the background. This could be achieved by carefully carving a piece of material with a flat plane where two contrasting colors met, removing all the first color except for the image to leave a contrasting background.