What is a Karat when referring to gold?
Karat (abbreviated Kt) is a measure of the quality or purity of gold in a piece of jewellery. There are many grades of gold. 24 karat gold is pure gold; 18 karat gold has 18 of the 24 parts gold, and the remaining six parts are of mixed alloy metals such as silver, copper, nickel, zinc, tine and manganese, depending on the colour; 14 karat gold has 14 of the 24 parts gold, with the remaining 10 parts mixed metals; 12 karat gold contains about 50% gold mixed with other alloy metals (typically silver, copper, nickel, zinc, tin and manganese, depending on the colour); 9 karat gold has nine of the 24 parts gold, with the remaining parts other metals.
