What is 750 or 18k Gold
750 Gold or 18k gold is one of most widely used gold alloys in jewelry making. Particularly known for its optimum balance of purity and appearance, buyers often refer it over other gold alloys. It can offer a wide range of benefits to users like purity, appearance, non-tarnishing etc. But similarly to its pros, it also has some cons.
In this article we’ll go through what is 750 or 18k gold and what are the pros and cons of 750 or 18k gold. This will surely help you in deciding whether to go for it or not.
What is 750 Gold
750 gold is a gold alloys made up of 75% gold and 25% other metals by weight. It is also known as 18 karat gold. Gold will always remain 75% by weight while other metals’ content can be replaced depending on the type of gold alloy a jeweler is aiming for.
Composition of different gold alloys as per their composition is:
Apart from this, black gold and purple gold are also used but on rare occasions.
Pros of 750 Gold
Here is a full list of pros offered by 750 gold.
1. Purity
750 gold is one of the purest forms of gold alloys. Only 825 gold (82.5% gold) has a greater purity level but it is not commonly used in used in jewelry due to softness. This softness leads to more scratches and damages. So, buyers mostly come towards 750 gold.
This purity factor gives it a superior hand over rest of the alloys. And with this purity, you get more gold-like properties from your jewelry.
2. Appearance
Sometimes buyer are preferring to buy jewelry with traditional yellowish gold looks. If you are one of those, then 750 gold might be the best for you. The logic going on here works like this:
“The more gold content an alloy has, more gold like properties it will have.”
Since it has the most gold content by percentage, it has the best gold like properties. This will come in terms of shine, smoothness and premium feeling offered by the jewelry.
As purity level decreases, premium looks of gold are taken over by other metals (copper, platinum, silver or whatever you are using).
3. Hypoallergenic
Hypoallergenic means that a metal is completely safe to be worn by people of all skins. Some metals like nickel, silver and copper often cause reactions with people with sensitive skins. This can lead to allergies or skin turning black or green.
Lower purity gold alloys contain higher amounts of these metals. That’s why they can cause skin reactions.
On the other hand, 750 gold does not react with the skin. All you have to look for is to avoid any gold jewelry containing even traces of nickel. Generally, many of the jewelers do it by stating their jewelry as “Nickel-Free”.
So, if you are one who has a sensitive skin and wants to buy gold jewelry, 750 gold is the best choice.
4. Non-Tarnishing
Another important benefit of 750 gold is its non-tarnishing property. Tarnishing is a chemical reaction in which a metal reacts with air making a blackish layer of unwanted chemicals. This mainly occurs due to the presence of copper and silver metal in gold alloys. Higher the content of copper and silver, faster will be the rate of tarnishing.
Though, this might not be a big problem with commercial tarnishing removal chemicals, you’ll need to clean jewelry periodically without skipping. Or tarnish can stick to the jewelry and make it hard to be removed.
5. Resale Value
Higher the gold content, higher will be the resale value. This is what matters. In case, you are also considering the resale value of your gold jewelry, items made of 750 gold stand out. These jewelries are high in demand with high gold content, so it allows jewelers or pawn shop owners to pay more for them.
Cons of 750 Gold
Just like the pros, 750 gold also has cons as well.
1. Cost
Cost is a big factor associated with 750 gold. As it has more gold content, jewelries made of 750 gold are generally pricier. Price difference can be as big as 30 percent compared to what you get in 14k gold. And as you go with lower purity alloys such as 9k or 10k, difference will keep on increasing.
This can be a “No” for some people. Specifically who are looking for a budget friendly option. At the same time, if you are not much concerned about the price, this point should not bother you. Nevertheless, you must be aware of the cost factor associated with 750 gold.
2. More Prone to Scratches
We all hate scratches. Right? Unfortunately 750 gold does not. Gold itself is a soft malleable metal which can be scratched easily. Similarly, 750 gold is also prone to scratches due to higher gold content percentage. You can expect to get more scratches, dents or dings than other gold alloys.
If you’re aiming to use your jewelry daily, you need to either save it from getting damaged or visit your jeweler regularly for polishing.
3. High Density
Gold is a high density metal compared to silver or copper. And as we know of now that 750 gold has a higher gold amount, that’s why it has a high density. Due to this property more gold will be required to make a jewelry item.
Let’s understand it via an example. Suppose you want to make two identical necklaces in 750 and 14k gold. If necklace made of 14k gold weighs 10 grams, at the same time 750 gold will weigh about 11 to 12 grams. So, in short you will be paying more in terms of grams for the same necklace.
4. High Maintenance Cost
Yes, 750 gold can save your money what you will be spending on tarnishing removal chemicals and cleaning stuff but it can have other things to be maintained as well. For example, whenever you get scratches or your jewelry get damaged, you will need to visit your jeweler more often.
This puts an extra maintenance cost in the list other than regular cleaning. In case you are not going to use your jewelry for daily usage, this is not a problem.
What Should You Buy?
No metal is perfect. It all comes down to your personal preferences and priorities. If you love to have the premium feeling of gold and can pay for its cost, go for it. Otherwise you can look down for lower purity gold alloys such as 14k or 10k. They might not be as good as 750, but they will save your money for sure.
Other than that, following metals are also available.