Jewellery Gold
Also: Jewellery Alloy, Wearing Gold, Jeweller's Gold
Jewellery gold refers to gold alloys used to make jewellery, whose fineness is expressed in karats or in parts per thousand.
Jewellery gold is not pure gold but an alloy of gold and one or more added metals such as silver, copper, palladium or zinc. Pure gold (999, or 24 karat) is too soft for jewellery and would quickly deform in everyday wear. Only the addition of other metals gives the material the hardness, abrasion resistance and — depending on the mix — the distinctive colour it needs. The fineness of a piece states how much pure gold it contains per 1,000 parts by weight, and it is also expressed in karats (abbreviated kt or ct): 24 karat corresponds to 999 parts per thousand of fine gold.
Common fineness levels at a glance
| Fineness | Karat | Gold content | Typical use |
|---|---|---|---|
| 333 | 8 kt | 33.3% | Entry-level jewellery, fashion pieces |
| 375 | 9 kt | 37.5% | UK and Irish market, wedding rings |
| 585 | 14 kt | 58.5% | Best-selling grade in Continental Europe |
| 750 | 18 kt | 75.0% | Premium jewellery, international |
| 916 | 22 kt | 91.6% | Indian/Arab markets |
| 999 | 24 kt | 99.9% | Cast jewellery, rare due to softness |
In Ireland and the UK, 9 karat (375) gold is very widely sold, while across much of Continental Europe 585 gold (14 karat) dominates the mass market. Internationally — especially in Switzerland, France and Italy — 750 gold (18 karat) is the preferred standard for quality jewellery.
The colours of jewellery gold
The alloying partners determine not only hardness but also colour:
- Yellow gold — the classic mix with silver and copper in a balanced ratio
- White gold — palladium, or historically nickel, as a bleaching agent; often rhodium-plated
- Red / rose gold — a raised copper content (from about 20%) gives the warm red tone
- Green gold — high silver content, little copper; rare and largely historical
Melt value and purchase
Anyone selling old jewellery gold generally receives the material value less a dealer margin. The melt value is worked out from weight, fineness and the current gold price:
Melt value = gross weight (g) × fineness (‰ / 1000) × gold price (€/g)
So a 10-gram ring of 585 gold contains 5.85 g of fine gold. The melt value calculator works this out in seconds. The actual buying price is, depending on the dealer, 5–30% below the calculated melt value, since processing costs and margin are factored in.
Hallmarks and punches
Jewellery gold usually carries a hallmark that marks its fineness. In Ireland, hallmarking of precious-metal articles is administered by the Assay Office (Dublin), and a piece typically shows:
- A figure for the fineness (for example "585" or "375")
- Optionally a maker's or master's mark
- Optionally an assay-office mark (in countries with mandatory state control such as Ireland or the UK)
Hallmarks can be examined with a hallmark loupe and, if in doubt, verified by the acid test or X-ray fluorescence.
Tax notes
Jewellery gold does not count as investment gold for VAT purposes. In Ireland, the purchase of jewellery therefore attracts the standard VAT rate of 23%, whereas investment gold is VAT-exempt under the VAT Consolidation Act 2010 (Schedule 1). A private individual's gain on later reselling jewellery is liable to Capital Gains Tax at 33%, after the annual personal exemption of EUR 1,270 — with no holding-period relief (unlike Germany's one-year rule under Paragraph 23 EStG). This is not tax advice.
In brief
Jewellery gold is always an alloy — the lower the karat value, the less gold it contains and the greater the influence of the added metals on colour, hardness and melt value. To know the real material value of your jewellery, read off the weight and fineness stamp and keep an eye on the current gold price.