How To Make Sure Your Body Jewelry Is Real Gold
Jim Hofman
Most women prefer using gold belly button rings and body jewelry since gold is a symbol of beauty and abundance since ancient times. However, there are specific things to know before choosing gold body jewelry.
How do you know your gold body jewelry is really gold? It's worth spending a little time to understand how you can make sure your gold body jewelry is pure, and not a substandard piece.
The first aspect to consider with body jewelry is karat content. You never want to buy body jewelry less than 18 karat gold. Lesser karat content, like 14k gold, means you'll run the risk of a body jewelry allergy, which are discomforting at best and downright painful at worst.
Most inexpensive body jewelry is only gold plated and should be avoided. Gold plated body jewelry contains a small percentage of gold and a large percentage of other metals, thereby increasing the chance for your body rejecting the jewelry.
After the polish goes away, the allergic risk is high, especially if the other metal used is nickel. Nickel is the most common metal used for body jewelry, particularly for white gold belly button rings. The cheaper the body jewelry, the more unlikely it has a high level of gold purity.
Since gold in its natural state is quite soft, it's very common for body jewelry manufacturers to use other metals along with gold to formulate a piece of body jewelry. For example, 14 karat gold belly button rings are just over half gold, with other metals comprising the remainder.
The very best choice for gold body jewelry is 18 karat gold. Primarily, body jewelry is available in 14 karat. 14K gold is less expensive but the downside is you'll have a higher chance for body jewelry allergic reaction.
The most important factors to consider when buying gold body jewelry:
1. Look for gold body jewelry sellers who adhere to a strict quality assurance program, and are willing to tell potential buyers what it means.
2. If your jewelry has a trademark, for example a sports team, it must have a license stamped on the back. If it doesn't, there are serious quality issues. Stay away.
3. Test your body jewelry at an independent lab if you have any questions about the gold content. Typically these tests are about $20.
4. Under a jewelers scope, take a good look at the craftmanship. Are there rough edges? Frays? Imperfections?
Lastly, you should understand gold terminology before you invest in body jewelry, especially belly button rings. 24k gold is pure gold, 18k gold is 75% pure, 14k gold is 58.3% pure. 10k gold is the lowest purity allowed to be labeled gold, at 41.7% purity.
When considering a body jewelry purchase, always look for 18 karat http://www.bodyjewelry101.info/ Gold Body Jewelry . Want more body jewelry tips? Visit us to learn more about all types of http://www.bodyjewelry101.info/ Gold Body Jewelry .
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