A: 925 markings on jewelry pieces mean that the pieces are sterling silver. 925 markings on jewelry are a universal standard used to indicate the purity of silver. The jewelry number 925 is significant because it means that the jewelry piece is made of 92.5% silver and 7.5% other metals.
A Maker's Mark is a unique stamp placed on jewelry and watches to ensure the authenticity of the manufacturer. These stamps are typically made up of the manufacturers initials, name, or another unique representative symbol. Identifying this mark is the first step in determining the value of a piece of jewelry.
Gold Purity Marks
The letter “k” refers to karats, where pure gold is composed of 24 karats (24k). A piece of jewelry with an etching that reads “18k” or “750” indicates that it is made up of 75 percent gold, while a “14k” or “585” mark indicates the metal is constructed with 58.5 percent gold.
Gold purity is measured in karats with 24 karats representing the highest value. Gold jewelry marked "750" or "18k" indicates a blended metal consisting of 75% gold and 25% other alloys or elements. Likewise, a "585" or "14k" imprint indicates a gold content equal to 58.5% of the whole.
Maker's marks are the initials or name of the manufacturing firm or other representative symbol stamped into a gold, silver or platinum item. Also called 'Trademarks,' they often provide the only evidence that a certain piece of jewelry has indeed been manufactured by a certain jewelry maker.
Most people know that the “k” stands for “karat,” a measure of purity. Something that is 100 percent gold is 24 “karat”; something that is 12 “karat” is 50 percent gold, the rest being impurities or harder metals like silver, bronze, or brass.
K is an abbreviation for Karat, which indicates the purity of gold (24 carats is pure gold). In other words, K24=100% purity so K18 means that 18/24 used 75% gold.
Pure gold is notated as 24K – this is the highest karat level for gold meaning it is 100% pure gold. 18K gold is 75% purity level, 14K is 58.3% purity level, and 10K is 41.7% purity level.
Defining Vintage
In general, items must be at least 20 years old to be considered vintage. Because jewelry eras tend to last longer and evolve more slowly than other fashion, décor, and style, however, most vintage pieces tend to be at least 50 years old.
– V (Vermeil): A layer of gold bonded to sterling silver with a minimum thickness of 100 millionths of an inch. The jeweler doesn't need to stamp karat quality.
Michael Kors watch designers do use real gold in their watches. But as previously stated, what you are seeing is gold plating rather than solid gold. Moreover, the gold plating exists only for aesthetic purposes. You will not open a Michael Kors watch and find solid gold components in the movement.
There are markings such as “S925”, “. 925”, and “925”. This gives assurance that the silver is indeed a 925 sterling silver. However, there are some sterling silver that don't have these marks so don't directly assume that the silver is fake if it doesn't have the mentioned markings.
Sterling silver is real silver–there's nothing fake about it. It's simply a mixture of real silver and just enough other metals to make it strong but not too difficult to mold.
Scratch test.
If you cut deep enough that you expose underlying metal, you can assume that it is plated. If it appears to be made of a uniform composition throughout, then it is probably solid gold.
Gold is expensive, no matter what karat it comes in. 10k gold is the most affordable but still comes with a sizable price tag, meaning 14k gold has a significantly higher price to it. Although overall, purchasing 14k gold over 10k gold will get you more value for money depending on how far your budget can stretch.
The term "karat" (K) designates the amount of gold found in a piece of jewelry. Pure gold is 24K and signifies 99.9 percent purity, the highest you can buy. Pure gold is very soft. Jewelry is often made in 10K, 14K or 18K.
10 karat white gold is 10 parts yellow gold and 14 parts other white metals. This means that 10 karat white gold is 41.7 percent gold.
24 karat gold is made entirely of the metal itself, without other metals mixed in. Due to its purity it is also the most expensive type of gold available. The high gold content in 24 karat means it is extremely soft and so would not hold its shape for very long when worn daily.
Fill a cup or bowl with water and carefully drop your gold piece into it. If the gold is real, it will sink to the bottom of the cup. If it's fake, it will float to the top or hover in the middle of the cup.
Look For Gold Hallmarks
One of the fastest and easiest ways to identify if the gold jewellery is solid or plated is to check its hallmarks. Gold purity is measured using the karat system, marked as “k”, “K” or “Kt”, on a scale from 0 to 24, the latter being the purest form with no other metals mixed.