Gold is a global commodity. The love for gold has increased considerably making India the highest consumer of gold globally. People from all classes prefer buying gold, be it the poor or the rich.
Gold is used for many purposes. Below are a few purposes:
- Investment
These days, people prefer to invest in gold by buying gold bars/coins and gold bonds which enable them to reap long term returns on investment.
Gifting on Occasions
Festivals like Diwali see people buying gold. It is a ritual in India to buy gold on the occasion of dhanteras (2 days before Diwali). On Occasions like marriage, the bride and groom are gifted gold jewellery or coins by their parents and relatives.
Inheritance
Gold is passed on from one generation to another and is being preserved by families as a memory. This jewellery keeps on accumulating and due to its preservation, helps in increasing the wealth of a person.
- Donation
Donating in temples is a common practice in India. For example, the famous temple Tirupati balaji and the Shirdi Sai baba.
India accounts for highest consumption of gold globally. In the year 2015, gold weighing 703 tonnes has been consumed in India. Since ages, Gold has been the most admired holding of people in India.
Gold acts as a status symbol for the rich. Marriages seem to be incomplete without gold. Many a times, we get involved in gold shopping for occasions like siblings or own wedding. But do you know what is the meaning of Karat and the difference between 24k/22k/18k/10k/6k gold.
Karat is a unit used for measuring the purity and quality of gold. It is denoted by the letter “k”.
What is 24k Gold?
Pure gold consists of 24 parts. Hence, 24K gold is the purest form of gold i.e. 100% gold. It means that there are no traces of other metals in gold. Pure gold is soft in nature and bright yellow in color. Due to its soft nature, one does not prefer to make jewellery as they are prone to easy wear and tear. Instead, one prefers to buy 24K gold coins/bars from banks or gold shops. It is used in electronics and making medical devices.
What is 22k Gold?
Among the 24 parts of gold, 22 part consists of gold and the other 2 parts are some other metal. Metals could be zinc or silver or nickel.
The percentage of pure gold in a jewellery of 22k is 91.67%. Balance 8.33% consists of other metals(zinc, nickel, silver etc).
22k is used for making jewellery like bangles, necklaces as the mixture of metals makes it tough and less prone to wear and tear.
What is 18k Gold?
Similarly, 18K gold consists of 75% gold and the balance 25% consists of other metals. In 18k, 18 parts are of gold and the balance 6 parts consists of other metals. As the mix of other metal increases and gold decreases, the jewellery becomes more durable and tough to hold a stone.
Diamond jewellery is always made in 18k or 14k or 10k. This goes with the point that as the mix of metals like silver or zinc or nickel increases and the gold decreases, the ornament becomes strong and durable enough to hold on to the stone for a longer period of time.
Gold and Silver jewellery is hallmarked by BIS Hallmark. BIS hallmark is a system of hallmarking the ornament and confirming that the piece of gold conforms to the specified karats by the gold seller. For example, 22k is denoted by the numbers 916, 18k by 750, 14k by 585.
As the Karat goes down, the purity of gold reduces. Like 14k consists of 58.3% gold, 12k consists of 50% gold and 10k consists of 41.7% gold. Also, you can customize the karat for any piece of jewellery you desire to buy.
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