In the United States when people think of gold jewelry, they commonly have in mind gold that is 10, 14 or 18 karat. These purities of gold indicate how much pure gold has been mixed with other alloys. The standards have been the same for a very long time with nothing lower than 10 karat being able to be marketed as real gold. However, recently all of that changed.
In August 2018 there was a revision to the FTC Guidelines, now the karatage threshold for gold has been eliminated. Items with as little as 1k gold content can be marketed as gold jewelry. Items of 1 karat gold jewelry are currently available from some major retailers. Jewelry made with this new 1 karat gold alloy is plated with 14 karat gold so that is resembles the look of traditional gold jewelry. However, these new items can be sold at a very low price. Its estimated that 1 karat gold jewelry sells for 80-90% less than the traditional gold counterpart . If you have any questions about gold jewelry of any karat, stop by Amoskeag Jewelers today we will be happy to help.