Is 24K gold better than 18K?

24K contains more gold and is worth more per gram, but it is soft. 18K is more durable for jewelry. "Better" depends on whether you want value or wearability.

What does 916 mean on gold?

916 means the item is 91.6% pure gold, which is 22 karats.

Why is my 14K gold stamped 585?

585 means 58.5% gold. It is the hallmark standard for 14K in most countries.

Gold Karats Explained: 24K vs 22K vs 18K vs 14K

What a karat is

A karat (written K or kt, and "carat" in British English) is a measure of the purity of gold. Pure gold is defined as 24 karats. Any lower number tells you how many of 24 parts are gold, with the rest made up of other metals such as silver, copper, zinc or palladium. So 18K gold is 18 parts gold and 6 parts other metals — 75% gold by weight.

Do not confuse it with the carat used for gemstones, which is a unit of weight (0.2 g) and has nothing to do with purity.

The common karats and their hallmarks

Most countries stamp jewelry with a hallmark showing fineness in parts per thousand. Learning these numbers is the fastest way to know what you own:

24K — 999 or 999.9: pure gold. Used for bars, coins and some Asian jewelry. Very soft and a deep yellow.
22K — 916: 91.6% gold. The standard for wedding jewelry in India, the Gulf and South-East Asia, and for bullion coins like the American Gold Eagle and British Sovereign.
21K — 875: 87.5% gold. Most popular in Saudi Arabia, Egypt and other Arab markets.
18K — 750: 75% gold. The fine-jewelry standard in Europe and Latin America and the base of most white and rose gold.
14K — 585: 58.5% gold. The most common karat for jewelry in the United States.
10K — 417: 41.7% gold, the legal minimum to be sold as "gold" in the US.
9K — 375: 37.5% gold, common in the UK, Ireland and Australia.

You may notice 14K is 585, not 583. Many countries round the legal minimum up slightly so that the alloy never falls below 14/24. Our price tables use these hallmark values.

The karat and the hallmark tell you how much of the piece is pure gold; the price per gram scales in the same proportion.

How karat changes the price

Because buyers pay for gold content, the price per gram scales directly with purity. If 24K gold is worth 130 dollars per gram, then:

22K is worth about 130 × 0.916 = 119.08
18K is worth about 130 × 0.750 = 97.50
14K is worth about 130 × 0.585 = 76.05

Retail prices for finished jewelry also include a making charge, which is often higher for intricate low-karat pieces than the difference in metal value. That is why a 14K ring can cost almost as much as an 18K one in a shop, even though it contains much less gold.

Durability and colour

Pure gold is soft enough to bend by hand and scratches easily. Mixing in other metals makes the alloy harder. 18K is a good balance for rings worn every day; 22K and 24K suit pieces that are worn less often or bought mainly as a store of value. Lower karats are harder but tarnish a little more over time because they contain more base metal.

The alloying metals also change colour. Copper produces rose gold; palladium or nickel produce white gold, which is usually plated with rhodium for a bright finish. Colour does not change the karat: an 18K white-gold ring has the same gold content as an 18K yellow one.

Which karat should you choose?

For investment: 24K bars or coins, or 22K coins, which have low premiums and are easy to resell.
For everyday jewelry: 18K or 14K, depending on budget and local custom.
For traditional and bridal jewelry in South Asia and the Gulf: 22K or 21K, which hold value well because buyers there price them close to their gold content.

Karat standards around the world

Each market has a favourite karat, which shapes both how jewelry looks and how it is priced locally. In the United States, 14K and 10K dominate everyday jewelry. The UK, Ireland and Australia use a lot of 9K alongside 18K. Continental Europe and Latin America favour 18K. Saudi Arabia, Egypt and much of the Middle East prefer 21K, while India, the Gulf states, Singapore and Malaysia buy mostly 22K. In mainland China and Hong Kong, pure 24K jewelry — known in Cantonese as "chuk kam" — is traditional. Legal minimums differ too: in the US an item must be at least 10K to be sold as gold, while in the UK and many other countries 9K is the lowest standard hallmark. Our country pages list the most common local karats first.

How to check the karat of a piece

Look for a small stamp inside rings, on clasps or near the ends of chains. In many countries an independent assay office or national standards body (for example BIS in India) adds its own mark. If there is no stamp, a jeweler can test the piece with acid, an electronic tester or an X-ray fluorescence machine. Our guide on how to tell if gold is real covers the options.