What is 22K Gold?

What is 916 Gold?

How 22K Gold is it Priced?

Where to Sell 22K Gold?

Important Notes: 

  • 22K is the abbreviation for 22 karat
  • 916 and 920 gold is the same as 22K 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

 

22 Karat Gold (22K Gold – 916 Gold – 920 Gold)

22K Gold and 916 and 920 Two Different Ways of Grading the Same Gold Alloy.  This article explains this together with how gold is priced.

What is 22K Gold

22 karat Gold is not Pure Gold.  It is an alloy in which of every 24 karats mass, 22 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 22K gold is 22K fine.

22 Carat Gold Fineness Calculations

The fineness of 22K gold can be expressed, based on karat (or karetege), percentage, or parts per one thousand (ppt).  Here is the reasoning.  In 22K gold, 22 karats are gold, 3 karats are not gold.  Thus, from this fact we can derive the following:

  • 22K Gold means that 22 parts out of 24 are pure gold and 3 parts out 24 parts are other materials
  • Based on this fact, we can derive the 22 karat fineness expressed as percentage(%) and as parts per one thousand (ppt).  This is how it works
  • 22 karat divided by 24 karat equals  0.916  (22K / 24K = 0.916).  If you multiply this by one hundred (100) you get 91.6.  This means that 22 Karat (22K) gold is 91.6 percent gold, the rest other materials.  Another way of expressing it is 22 karat gold is 91.6% fine, or has a fineness of 91.6%.
  • 22 karat divided by 24 karat equals  0.916  (22K / 24K = 0.916).  If you multiply this by one thousand (1000) you get 916.  This means that 22 Karat (22K) gold is 916 parts per one thousand (1000) gold.  The rest other material.  Another way of expressing it is 22 karat gold is 916 parts per one thousand (ppt) fine, or has a fineness of 916.

 

916 Gold and 920 Gold

916 gold and 920 gold are the same as 22 karat (22K) gold.  920 is obtained by rounding up 916 to the next zero.  Thus it is said that 22K gold is 92% pure.

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

 

Pricing 22K Gold

22K 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 22K gold is calculated like this.

(International Price of Gold  Times  0.916)   Minus  (Cost of Refining)  Minus  (Capital Cost)  Minus (Dealer Profit)  Equals  Offered Price for 22K 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

  • 22K and 916 and 920 are different ways to grade the same type of alloy.
  • 22 karat (22K) means 22 part out of 24 parts are gold.  The rest is other materials
  • 916 and 920  are the same.  They mean 916 and 920 parts per 1000 are gold respectively.  The rest other materials
  • The price of 22K 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