Types of fakes
Firstly, I will enlighten you based on true cases that often occur during the appraisal regarding the various types of gold products. There are mainly two kinds of fakes such as the “plated” and “the seal does not match the actual material”. The following explanation is going to be more detailed classification example. Please refer to the description below:Example 1: Double coating structure
Sometimes bars look fake because they have a base made of tungsten underneath the deep gold plating and a copper-plated layer above it. Touchstone inspection alone cannot provide an accurate assessment of this type of fraud; additional techniques, such as specific gravity inspection, must be used.
Example 2: Misreporting purity
It is K10, but K18 is engraved on it. In Malaysia, this is the method that is used the most. Even though the purity is falsely reported, the product is still gold, so it cannot be completely fake, but it does deceive customers. And example 3 is typically used when reporting purity falsely.
Example 3: It is clearly a gold-plated product, but “K18” engraved on the gold product
The purity of 18 will be identified “K18” in the karat system, which measures the purity of gold. On the other hand, “GP” (for instance, “K18GP”) must be added to products that have been gold-plated. However, some of the fakes are actually gold-plated but are only marked with the letter “K” in an effort to fool consumers into thinking they are genuine gold goods. According to numerous cases involving appraisals, most of them employ “tungsten,” which has a specific gravity similar to gold and is covered in a layer of gold to mislead the customer. Please take note of this circumstance.
One of the most annoying techniques involves engraving the number “K18” to represent gold despite the fact that no gold is used at all; rather, tungsten is processed with gold-plated copper.
Example 4: Partial use of non-gold material
Although there are engravings on gold products, the buckle or the buckle connecting the chain may also contain non-gold materials or plating. This is how most fake jewelry is made. This technique of using imitations on tiny parts is difficult to spot at first glance, and it is simple to overlook and skip for inspection. Products that are counterfeit frequently have poor workmanship. They are typically obvious at first glance if given to gold acquisition or appraisal experts.You can do it yourself! Teach you how to easily distinguish real and fake gold products
Identify on your own jewelry. Then will I introduce to you what methods are available to distinguish the authenticity of gold products. If we can take a multi-pronged approach, the accuracy of identification will be higher.
Engrave
Firstly, confirm the engraving.
The purity of 18 will be designated “K18” in the karat system, which measures the purity of gold. There is also a “mark of the thousandth method” in other nations. K18 and K14 have a respective marking of 750 and 585. The thousandth method is also widely used in the markets of Malaysia, Taiwan, and Japan. The words “FINE GOLD” or “999.9” are engraved on the bar (ingot), and they are all made of pure gold. (K24). With the mixture, the tone of the gold will change. Women who enjoy jewelry should be familiar with the engraved words like “K14YG” (i.e. K14 Yellow Gold) or “K18PG” (i.e. K18 Pink Gold)! Additionally, gold-plated products are identified by the letters “GP,” which stand for “Gold Plated,” and the engraved words “18K” gold plated are “K18GP”.Attract with magnet
Magnets cannot attract gold because it lacks magnetism. It cannot be assumed at random that “not attracted by magnets is gold,” as there are other metals like silver or tin that do not react to magnets. This method is only appropriate for determining whether an object might contain iro, despite being simple to test at home with a magnet. n!
Measuring specific gravity
Do you recall the tale of Archimedes who measured the crown? There has been a technique for determining the authenticity of gold using this value since antiquity. This technique dates back to the Archimedes period before the year AD. Measure the specific gravity of the object you want to confirm by submerging it in water. To determine whether the two match, compare the specific gravity value to the specific gravity that corresponds to the purity of the engraving on the inspection object. However, there are drawbacks to this approach as well. The measured specific gravity of a gold-plated product may not differ significantly from that of gold if the inspection object is made of a material with a similar specific gravity to gold, so other inspection methods must be used at the same time. In addition, if you mix and match different materials such as gemstones in the design, or a design with holes in the middle, you cannot get the correct value.Color Tone
Different purities will exhibit different tones, and the variation in tones is another sign of authenticity. Comparatively, the real and the fake usually have very distinct tonal differences. Golden yellow and orange compose pure gold (K24). When the purity falls below K10, the orange color also becomes lighter and exhibits a relatively bright yellow; however, as the copper content rises, the tone of the color starts to deteriorate.Touchstone test
Since ancient times, the touchstone test method has been used to identify objects. Based on the traces of friction on the slate, the color tone, or the touch during rubbing, test the metal’s surface against a black stone known as the “touchstone” to see if it is gold. Some products with rough gold plating will reveal the non-gold material inside when rubbed, allowing you to tell right away that they are fakes.
