How do you tell if a necklace is gold or not, without going to a jeweler?

Answer by  mill (137)

First, look to see if it is marked. The mark will either say 10K or 417, 14K or 585, or maybe 18K or 750. If it has the letter GF it means it is gold filled. GP is gold plated. Also look to see if there is peeling or rusting.

Answer by  mmarple (31)

First, you can also look for worn areas which indicates the necklace is only gold plated. If it does not appear to be gold-plated, then apply a small amount of nitric acid to the necklace. Gold is insoluble in nitric acid, but you must be careful when working with acid.

Answer by  Latha (264)

In pure gold there is a markings like 24k,18k etc. In this method we can know the gold is pure or not. A metal tag has also uses in these type of golden necklace and the color of this tag is golden color. Another method is to recognize the pure gold is with the help of magnifying glass.

Answer by  snceflyf (448)

You could determine if gold is real by checking for imprinted text such as 14K or 22K on the piece or you can purchase your own tester and test the jewelry yourself.

Answer by  bunkerhill (825)

Any piece of jewelry should have the manufacturer's stamp and a gold stamp with the karats. You may need a magnifying glass but someone one the piece, normally on the clasp you should see 14k, 18k or 24k stamped into the metal. If there is no stamp present, it is probably not gold.

Answer by  BeefStrule (690)

There's just something about gold that makes it obvious. If you wear the necklace and people come up to you to compliment you, you can be sure it's gold. If they don't, you've probably got a fake.

Answer by  mhbat (217)

If it is genuine gold, there will be a stamp indicating the quality, so it might say "14k" or "24k", depending on the quality of the piece. If it is real gold, it will be stamped somewhere on the piece.

Answer by  Dana46 (2345)

Look for a stamp, usually on the inside of the clasp, that will identify it as either gold or gold plated.