8 Tips About How To Tell If Gold Is Real -- Which You Can Use Today

If you recently found a gold heirloom or a long-loved piece of jewelry, you are probably wondering how to tell if your gold is real. These are 9 easy ways to see if the gold in your possession is real.

1. The Easiest Method To Test Gold: Grab A Magnifying Glass And Look For “Hallmarks”

A piece of gold jewelry is often engraved with a hallmark, which is a stamp that identifies its content and/or manufacturer. Hallmarks usually appear in an inconspicuous place like the inside of a ring. The hallmark test, also known as the magnifying glass test, is a good place to start when checking if your gold is real. Many hallmarks include:

• Valid purity numbers under the Karat system (like 8k, 9k, 10k, 14k, 15k, 18k, 20k, 21k, 22k, 23k, and 24k)
• Valid purity numbers under the Millesimal Fineness system (333, 375, 417, 583 or 585, 625, 750, 833, 875, 916, 958 and 999)
• False purity numbers (anything other than the above)
• Manufacturer name

The issue with this method is that since anybody can engrave any hallmark they choose, this level of testing is not dead accurate. The good news is that if the numbers or engravings say anything other than the ones mentioned above, then you can rest assured that you have fake gold.

Stay With Your Magnifying Glass And Look for Letter Markings To Indicate The Level Of Gold In Your Jewelry

Any gold that is marked as less than 10k (which equals out to be 41.7% purity) is considered to be fake. Having said that, you’ve got some bad news if you see any of the following markings:

• GP - Gold Plated
• GF - Gold Filled
• GE - Gold Electroplated
• GEP - Gold Electro Plated
• HGP - Heavy Gold Plated
• HEG - Heavy Gold Electroplated

Without getting too much of a popsicle headache from these acronyms, the general gist you should take from all of this is that these markings indicate only a small percentage of gold was used to cover a piece that was made out of some other kind of metal. Covering up a piece of other metal means that it only has the appearance of gold.

While gold plating gets you buy on the surface, and sure can look really nice, the catch is that it’s less than 41.7% purity. In other words - fake.

2. Hold The Gold In Between Your Hands For A Few Minutes And See If Your Skin Gets A Bluish Or Greenish Tint

Gold is a famously nonreactive element, so real gold jewelry will never discolor your skin. Perspiration from your hands will either react with the metal and change the color of your skin or leave it unaffected.

When real gold is in direct contact with your skin there is no discoloration. If the gold is fake it will cause your skin to turn black, blue, or green at the contact points. In other words, if your skin changes color, you’ve got something fake on your hands.

There is one tiny exception to this method – if you test gold on your skin while wearing a liquid foundation, your skin will turn black at the points of contact. So if you are doing this method, be sure to remove all makeup before the test..

3. If The Size And Weight Of The Gold Is Too Good To Be True, Then It Is Definitely Not Real Gold

This is just the eyeball test. You probably do have a piece of gold that you know for sure is absolutely real. Take that piece and compare a piece of gold against the one you want to test.

A fun fact is that gold is denser than most other known metals. Why is this important? If you have a piece that looks too large for its weight or feels too light for its size, then you probably have fake gold.

That is to say, if you have a gold bar that is lighter than your 24k necklace - you’ve got some really expensive-looking aluminum.

4. You May Have A Slightly Big Problem If Your "Gold" Reacts In Any Way To A Magnet

Death, taxes, and Gold is NOT magnetic.

Your gold should be no more responsive to a magnet than your cat. If your gold reacts to the presence of a magnet, you more than likely don’t have real gold.

Some of the base metals that can be mixed with gold, however, are also non-magnetic so it is possible to get a false read.

As much as gold is not reactive to magnets, this test is not 100% foolproof. As such, it is a good idea to do this in conjunction with another more accurate testing method.

5. Scratch Your Gold Against A Piece Of Tile And Hope That You Get A Good Marking 74

Find yourself an unglazed ceramic plate or piece of tile laying around your garage and scrape a piece of gold across its surface. Real gold will leave a gold mark or trail in its wake.

If you have fake gold, most other metals will leave a black trail.

Let’s hope you don’t have a black trail.

6. Weigh The Density To See If your "Gold" Is Genuine

Gold is dense. But, let’s apply a little more science to how this can be figured out. Let’s actually calculate the true density of your gold! In order to do this though, you’re going to need a few things:

• A scale (to weigh the jewelry)
• A container of water
• A way to measure the level in millimeters (to measure the water levels before and after the jewelry goes into the water)

The process

• Subtract the “before” measurement from the “after” measurement.
• Then divide the weight of the jewelry by the difference in the water levels.
• This number will give you the density.

The standard density of real gold is 19.3 grams per milliliter. It’s a pretty unique number and not a lot of other metals come very close to it. That is to say, if you calculate this number or something very close to it, you more than likely have real gold.

Once again though, there are a few issues to keep in mind. When you use density to distinguish gold's authenticity, different types of gold have different densities.

As you move up in gold purity, your density will also move up. What’s more, white gold is heavier than yellow.

As such, gold density between 14k and 22k will be anywhere between around 12.9 and 17.7 for yellow gold and anywhere between around 14 and 17.8g/mL for white gold. Stick to these numbers, and you’ll have real gold.

7. Vinegar Might Smell Up Your House, But It Also Can Tell You If You Have Real Gold

If you can stomach the smell of Vinegar raging through your home for a little while, this test can help you out. All it requires is a few drops of vinegar to be applied to the metal – but make sure you can do it in an inconspicuous place!

If your piece is real gold, you will not see a change. But if the metal is fake gold, it will change color. This is why you need it to be in an inconspicuous place.

8. The Most Tried And True Method: Bring Your Gold To The Expert Jeweler To Evaluate Its Authenticity

Oh yes, the easiest method. It doesn’t require smelling up your kitchen, scratching tile, or getting a popsicle headache from figuring out math equations.

If you really want to know for sure how much gold is really in your gold, bring it to a jeweler. Reputable jewelers have a wide array of methods available to the public for authentication of gold content.

But they are the experts. Think of it like your taxes, can you do them at home? Yup - but are you an expert? Do you really have a full grip on your deductions and all the legal jargon? It’s just safer to bring it to someone who knows what they are doing.