What is 14K Gold?

What is 585 Gold?

How is it 14K Gold Priced?

Where to Sell 14K Gold?

Important Notes: 

  • 14K is the abbreviation for 14 karat
  • 585 gold is the same as 14K gold
  • Karat and Karet are different ways to spell the same word
  • Karat with “K” is used for indicating gold fineness
  • Carat with “C” is used for indicating diamond weight

 

14 Karat Gold (14K Gold – 585 Gold)

14K Gold and 585 Two Different Ways of Grading the Same Gold Alloy.  This article explains this together with how gold is priced.

What is 14K Gold

14 Karat Gold is not Pure Gold.  It is an alloy in which of every 24 karats mass, 14 karats are gold.  The remaining are other materials.  Most jewelry, industrial and medical grade gold items “are not pure gold” gold.  They are alloys with high gold content.  How much of the mass of the material is actually pure gold is called its “Fineness”.  Thus 14K gold is 14K fine.

14 karat Gold Fineness Calculations

The fineness of 14K gold can be expressed, based on karat (or karetege), percentage, or parts per one thousand (ppt).  Here is the reasoning.  In 14K gold, 14 karats are gold, 10 karats are not gold.  Thus, from this fact we can derive the following:

  • 14K Gold means that 14 parts out of 24 are pure gold and 10 parts out 24 parts are other materials
  • Based on this fact we can derive the 14 karat fineness expressed as percentage(%) and as parts per one thousand (ppt).  This is how it works
  • 14 karat divided by 24 karat equals  0.583  (14K / 24K = 0.583).  If you multiply this by one hundred (100) you get 58.3.  This means that 14 Karat (14K) gold is 58.3 percent gold, the rest other materials.  Another way of expressing it is 14 karat gold is 58.3% fine, or has a fineness of 58.3%.
  • 14 karat divided by 24 karat equals  0.583  (14K / 24K = 0.583).  If you multiply this by one thousand (1000) you get 583.  This means that 14 Karat (14K) gold is 583 parts per one thousand (1000) gold.  The rest other material.  Another way of expressing it is 14 karat gold is 583 parts per one thousand (ppt) fine, or has a fineness of 583.

 

585 Gold

585 gold is the same as 14 karat (14K) gold.  The figure 585 comes out of rounding up 583 to 585.  Thus, the figure used for grading gold this way is 585 instead of 583.

Grading based in part per one thousand (PPM) is typically used for jewelry destined for the European and Asian markets.  Grading based on carat (K) is typically used for jewelry destined for USA, Britain and Latin America.

 

Pricing 14K Gold

14K Gold is not pure gold.  This means that unless it will be used in its present physical item form, it needs to be refined in order to go back to industry.  That means that it needs to be “scrapped”.  Scrapping means sending to melt and refine.  Because of this, the price of 14K gold is calculated like this.

(International Price of Gold  Times  0.583)   Minus  (Cost of Refining)  Minus  (Capital Cost)  Minus (Dealer Profit)  Equals  Offered Price for 14K Gold.

Other than the fineness, all of this figure are somewhat variable.  This means that the how much is offered will vary somewhat from dealer to dealer.  Call each dealer and see how much they are offering.  A reasonable dealer profit is between 20% and 30% depending on the size of the transaction.  Larger transaction justify lower percentage profit.

 

Summary

  • 14K and 585 are different ways to grade the same type of alloy.
  • 14 karat (14K) means 14 part out of 24 parts are gold.  The rest is other materials
  • 585 means 585 parts per 1000 are gold.  The rest other materials
  • 585 is 583 rounded up to a multiple of five
  • The price of 14 gold is based on the international price of gold, capital costs and dealer profit

More Info

10K Gold

14K Gold

18K Gold

22K Gold

24K Gold