Coins are usually made of an alloy as other metals are mixed into the coin to make it more durable. Fineness is the actual gold content in a coin or bar and expressed as a "per mil", or thousandths. For example, a gold ingot identified as being .999 fine will be 999/1000 pure gold, with the other 1/1000 being an alloy.
Karat weight (K or kt) is a traditional fraction-based system used to denote the fineness of gold, with one karat being equal to 1/24 part of pure gold in an alloy. With the precision of modern assaying techniques, however, the fineness of gold ingots and bullion is more likely to appear as a decimal measurement. In this system, pure gold would be denoted as 1.000 fine. However, since absolutely pure gold is very soft and therefore not suitable for coinage or ingots, it is generally accepted worldwide that anything above. 999 fine qualifies as 24K. Below is a karat weight to fineness conversion chart.
Correlation between karats and fineness
The fineness is often converted to a percent, as well. If a gold coin has a fineness of .900, that is 90.0% pure gold. If a gold coin has a fineness of .850, then the gold coin is 85.0% pure.
Coins have varied greatly in fineness through history. Notable historical standards that were closely adhered-to include the crown gold (22 karat) used in all English gold coins intended for circulation from 1526 onward, and 0.900 fine (21.6 kt), the standard for all American circulation-coins from 1837 onward.
Fineness is not the only way to value a gold coin; a great deal of value in collector coins comes from condition and rarity. To a far lesser extent, even the value of gold bullion coins is influenced by their physical condition.
There are two ways to measure the purity of gold coins - Karat and fineness. Karat is the more commonly used measure of gold purity. 24 Karat (KT) is considered to be the purest form of gold which contains 24/24 parts of gold. Similarly, 22KT gold contains 22 parts of gold and 2 parts of other metals such as zinc or silver to make it more durable while making Jewellery.
Fineness is another parameter used to measure the purity of gold and is mainly to find the purity of 24KT gold. As per the World Gold Council's website, even 'pure' gold can contain minute amounts of mixed impurities which the manufacturer has not been able to remove. Fineness is defined as weight of precious metal (such as gold) in proportion to the total weight (which includes alloy and impurities). It is expressed in units of parts per 1,000. The purest form of gold, i.e. 24KT, when measured. in fineness shows 999.9 parts per thousand of purity.
Quality : The quality of the gold is the crucial factor that a buyer has to see for before investing in the precious metal. There are various ways to test the quality of the gold.
Price : The price also plays an essential factor before purchasing the yellow metal. The buyer can compare the costs of the gold at different jewelry shops in the city of Hyderabad. Usually, the making charges of the ornaments differ from one shop to another one thus adding an edge to the final price of the product.
Weight – One has to check the weight of the jewelry piece before purchase. The stones like emeralds, ruby, diamonds, the pearl will also be included while pricing the ornament. The prices of the stones too are charged on par with the value of gold per gram which will increase the final cost of the jewelry piece. So one has to clarify if the rate of the stones is separately charged, or it is priced along with the jewelry.
Special Occasions : If we look at the trend in the prices of gold during recent past, we can observe that the price of gold will raise during festive and marriage season. The prices will see an upward trend during festivities as more people will throng the jewelry shops to buy gold.
Investment : In India, people have the habit of investing in gold. Gold is seen as an asset, which is passed on from one generation to another. This tradition is witnessed since time immemorial. One aspect that has to be given importance is that the gold which we are buying today will last for generations to come, and hence plan carefully.
The Purity Factor of gold : Karat is the term used to measure the purity or gold content. It is referred to as "K". There are different karats of gold available in the market they are 14 karats, 18 karats, 22 karats and 24 karats. 24 karat gold is considered as the purest form of gold, and it is likely to cost more compared to other karats.
Certification : The government of India has identified Bureau of Indian Standards (BIS) as a sole agency to certify and authenticate gold in India. The BIS hallmark is a mark of conformity which is widely accepted as it bestows the additional confidence to the consumer on the purity of gold jewelry. Techniques that check purity of Gold Gold is the most valuable of all elements. Gold Is very soft when it is in a pure state. Gold is measured in karats which has "K" as a symbol. These Karats (K) tells us how much amount of gold is present in the metal alloy. Gold is calculated in 22 karats and 24 karats. Here the gold is 100 per cent in 24 karats without alloy metal and 22 karats 91.7 per cent of gold with alloy metal. But nothing is less than 20k in the Indian market. There are different types of gold can be available they are yellow gold, rose gold. Gold is yellow when pure, and the intensity of yellow color depends on some other elements alloyed with it. The higher the karat weight, more intense is the color. Rose Gold is another popular colored gold used in jewels. The pinkish gold can be owed to a larger proportion of copper in the gold alloy, making it more durable simultaneously. There are different ways to check the purity of gold but the general method that knows to is the Acid test. This test is the cheapest method used to check gold. It comes with black stone and with different acids. If a drop of acid is placed on gold and it reacts then the purity of gold is lesser than the karats mentioned in the acid solution bottle. The other method to check the purity of gold is electronic gold testers. With this device we can check the purity of gold, and even the metal is gold or not. The next one is X-ray fluorescence spectrometers (XRF) and this method tells accuracy of gold surely, but it costs high. We can purify the gold through mobile applications like Gold Test + Prices Free, Gold Density, Metal Detector. Investment in Gold Since time immemorial, people consider gold as an asset which is not only passed on from one generation to another, but it is also used as security during the financial emergency situation. People start investing in gold in various forms, prominent among them are as follows.
Jewelry : Hyderabad, the capital city of Telangana has biggest gold jewelry buyers in South India. Coins: People buy gold coins as a part of investment purpose. The gold coins are available in different weights and karats. Bullions: Investors also purchase bullions which are in the form of bars or ingots. The value is determined by the weight and cost of the precious metals.
Commodity Exchange : Gold is traded as a commodity for a variable time duration in Multi commodity exchange (MCX), National Spot Exchange limited or in the National Commodity & Derivatives Exchange (NCDEX).