18k Gold Chain – Things to Know Before Buying
18k gold chains have always been a popular jewelry item for both men and women. Being gold by themselves, they can be worn with or without a pendant.
The choice of thickness and length depends on how you want to wear your 18k gold chain. Men tend to favor the heavier and thicker types while women prefer the shorter and thinner chains. Gold chains can range from 20 to 30 inches with 22 to 24 inches the more popular lengths.
Gold chains can either be machine or hand-made. There are many chain designs with the Rope designs as the most common design but depending on how it is made, the complexity may vary. Some other designs are box, herringbone, cable and box. The main advantage of machine-made chains is the uniformity of the final product.
Aside from 18K, gold chains are also available in various karats (gold’s unit of measure) or purity. The more common are 10K, 14K and 18K. Chains are also available in 24K but since 24K means 100% or pure gold, and gold is a malleable or soft metal, it is not ideal for use in chains.
Aside from purity, gold also comes in various colors. Yellow is the color of gold in its natural or pure form. Because of its softness, other metals are needed to be mix with it to give it strength for everyday use. Depending on the other metal or metals (and its proportion) mixed with the gold, different colors have been created. The resulting metal is called an alloy. Regardless of the metals mixed with the gold, the gold content is always the same as shown by its karat. This means an 18K white gold chain would have the same amount of gold as an 18K green gold chain and so on.
To get white gold, nickel or palladium (another precious metal) is use. For rose or pink gold, copper is used and for green gold, silver is alloyed with the gold. There are also some exotic gold colors available, again depending on the metal mixed and the percentages.
With the rising price of gold in the world market, gold chains of any purity and jewelry with gold content is becoming a good investment. Take good care of your 18k gold chains and they should keep and even appreciate their value over time.
Keep in mind the information above when shopping for your next 18K gold chain.