The most proven way to verify gold for authenticity is to contact a reputable and knowledgeable jeweler. And how to check and determine gold at home? This can be done by testing on special equipment using mass spectrometers, but they are expensive and impractical for the average person. However, there are several inexpensive ways to test gold at home.
Properties of precious metals
Gold has many properties that make it different from others. This is the most malleable and malleable of all metals, that is, it can easily take various forms. It also easily merges with many other metals, forming alloys and being a good conductor of electricity and heat. Gold is also one of the few metals that are not affected by moisture, air, most aggressive agents, which makes it durable in nature.
Gold and silver are extremely dense metals, they are much denser than non-precious metals, such as lead, mercury and so on. Each coin is issued with tight tolerances in terms of diameter, thickness and weight. How to check gold at home? Genuine gold and silver coins emit a specific ringing upon impact, and compared to other non-ferrous metals, the difference will be noticeable, similar to how crystal ringing sounds compared to glass champagne glasses.
Authentication
How to check gold at home? Often magnets are used to identify fakes. Gold and silver are non-magnetic metals, therefore, they will not be attracted. However, it is worth knowing that some base metals used in counterfeit activities are also non-magnetic, therefore only this method should not be relied on, it is recommended to do this in combination with other methods. Gold is a metal that will be valued for a long time as a symbol of status, success and longevity. When buying or selling it, you must be completely sure that it is real. There are a number of tests that can be performed to verify its authenticity.
How to avoid tungsten fakes?
Some of the most difficult to detect fake gold items are tungsten. Its density is almost identical, and this metal is relatively inexpensive. Here are some of the best ways to avoid problems:
1. Avoid large gold bullion. 10 ounces and 50 grams of gold bullion is easiest to fake, as holes can be made in them filled with tungsten and then sealed with gold again. The situation is more complicated with smaller sizes, 1 ounce and less. Tungsten is harder than gold. This means that it is very difficult to use in minting or making small items because of its fragility.
2. Avoid deals that are too good to be true. As they say, avaricious pays twice.
3. Buy silver. There is no metal having a similar density, which makes it difficult to counterfeit.
How to check gold at home? The easiest ways
- Visual inspection The first thing to do is to carefully consider the product. A sign indicating authenticity will be the official marking in the form of a stamp with a breakdown. This can be done with a magnifying glass.It happens that the characters are not very clearly visible, this indicates natural wear. It is important to check the likelihood of discoloration in areas that experience constant friction (usually around the edges). If such a thing is discovered, it is probably just a gilded piece of another metal.
- The bite test. How to check gold at home if nothing is at hand? To check, you can bite the product under moderate pressure. If the gold is real, then traces may remain on it. This check is a bit old-fashioned, once gold diggers did it. The deeper the tracks, the purer the gold. But in fact, this is not recommended, since tooth enamel can be damaged.
- Magnet Test. This simple test can be considered as a gold check for authenticity at home, here it is worth using stronger magnets, in this case a small magnet from the refrigerator will not work. It is necessary to hold objects together for some time, if the test specimen begins to stretch or stick, then this is a fake.
Gold Weight and Density
How to test gold at home by density testing? In nature, there are a large number of metals denser than gold. The density of pure 24k gold is around 19.3 g / ml, which is much higher than most other metals. As a rule, the higher the density, the cleaner it is. However, to check the gold at home, you need to have a passport of the product, which will indicate the density of the metal without precious stones of any kind. If there is no such information, you can try to calculate it yourself.
First you need to weigh your piece of gold, as you will need weight in grams. Then you should fill the bottle with millimeter marking with water and immerse the product there. It is also important to note the exact sum of the water levels before and after the dive and the difference between the two numbers in milliliters. To calculate the density, the following formula is used: density = mass / volume of displacement. As a result, almost 19 g / ml indicates real gold or a material with a similar density. For example, an ingot weighs 38 g and displaces 2 milliliters of water. After making simple calculations, we get the result of 19 g / ml.
Ceramic test
Since gold is a very valuable material, it is important to find out its authenticity before buying or selling. There are many ways, but each method has its own strengths and weaknesses. How to identify gold at home yet? You can try the ceramic test. It should be borne in mind that the product may be scratched if you overdo it. For the test you need to find a piece of unglazed ceramics, draw gold on its surface. A black stripe means it's fake, and a stripe of yellow noble metal indicates authenticity.
The most unsafe way: nitric acid
How to determine gold at home? A nitric acid test is a great way to test this. However, due to the complexity of the acquisition and certain risks when using this method, it is worth using with extreme caution, since it is an extremely caustic substance. It will be right to entrust this procedure to a professional jeweler. The verification is carried out in the following way: a piece of gold is placed in a small stainless steel container, then you need to drop nitric acid on the gold and wait. A green reaction indicates that the specimen is simply gilded. Yellow indicates gold-plated brass. A milky hue will mean silver. If there is no reaction, then most likely you are dealing with real gold.
