Russian market gold jewelry filled with fake products, which are sometimes impossible to distinguish from real ones. Buy fake gold We take risks not only in subway passages, from the hands of gypsies and on the highway, but also in the most ordinary jewelry stores. What if you have to take it to a pawn shop? gold, the price will depend on the quality of the product.

If you have decided to make such an expensive purchase, go to a large, reputable store that works with Russian factories or well-known Western companies. In this case, you may have to overpay, but experts believe that the probability buy a fake small.

Pure gold is a rich yellow metal, but few people know about the following: jewelers practically do not produce anything from gold alone. In the jewelry industry, they use alloys that contain one or another proportion of gold.

And alloys that outwardly resemble gold, do not count. The most primitive of them is an alloy of copper and zinc, the so-called “tompak”. This is due to the fact that gold has a significant drawback: it is very soft and subject to rapid abrasion, so that products made from it are easily torn and wrinkled. Therefore, since ancient times, it has been customary for masters to add gold items other metals are copper and silver, the alloy of which is called alloy. If the product has a 585 standard, this means that 1000 grams of this metal contains 585 grams of pure gold and 415 ligature.

The colors of the most common alloys are yellow, red and white. Usually they are called that - yellow, red and white gold:

Red gold(or red, as it is sometimes called) was especially common in Ancient Rus'. Its traditional composition is as follows: 75% gold itself and 25% copper. However, this alloy is not particularly hard and therefore products made from it are usually massive.

Yellow gold- the most popular, because its color is very similar to the color of pure metal, however, yellow gold consists not only of it - copper and silver are introduced here as additives (and the more of the latter, the lighter the alloy). The classic version of making yellow gold assumes that there is an equal amount of all metals in the alloy.

White gold. This alloy became widespread relatively recently. It usually consists of 37% gold, with the remaining components being silver, nickel or platinum. Nickel, due to its increased allergenicity, is prohibited in the countries of the European Union.

On gold there must be a test.

The first thing you need to pay attention to is how level the sample is. The hallmark must be parallel to the piece of jewelry on which it is installed. If the brand is crooked, this is the first signal that you have something in your hands. fake(but not yet a fact). A crookedly set sample is not a violation, but as practice shows, it is extremely rare on real products.

However, the fact that there is a sample on a product does not mean that it is gold not fake. The test can only guarantee that the top layer is indeed made of precious metal. Therefore, it is worth carefully examining the product from all sides - how good it looks overall and in individual details: whether the stones are carefully inserted, whether the soldering at the joints is of high quality.

Because the fake gold and products made from it are quite large in scale, people have come up with many ways to check the naturalness of a product:

Apply to gold a little regular iodine, wait a few minutes and wipe off with a soft cloth. If there are fingerprints, stains on the gold, or it changes color, then we can confidently say that it is a fake. Because iodine does not affect real gold.

If iodine is not at hand, you can do a similar experiment using vinegar or a lapis pencil to stop bleeding, which is sold in any pharmacy. If the metal oxidizes, it means fake.

Gold- this is a heavy metal and once it was tested in this way: if it sank in water quickly, it was good, if not, then it was considered that the gold was not real.

You can check it with the sun. Real gold both in the shade and in the sun it will be the same color. Fake It's getting dark in the shadows.

Scraping It is worth scratching the product from the inside. Under a thin layer of gold there may be aluminum or other base metal.

You can also use your own skin to test gold items. To do this, you need to vigorously rub the jewelry being tested over your hand for about a minute until it warms up slightly. Then you should carefully examine your hand to see if there is a dark mark left on it. If it remains, then there is very little in this decoration gold.

There are many more popular ways to determine gold: on the tooth, on the hair, on the taste, on the nose, etc. - you shouldn’t take them seriously. If there is a rational grain in some of them, then only a specialist can use this grain.

And don’t think that you are for sure distinguish gold from fake, knowing a couple of “reliable” methods. Even an experienced jeweler sometimes cannot identify gold without a special reagent. And even a reagent cannot give a 100% guarantee. Testing with a reagent indicates that the surface of the product is indeed made of gold. What's inside... Lately fakes began to be made from alloys whose color does not differ from the standard 585 gold alloy.

How not to buy fake:

Don't buy gold from strangers.

do not buy gold from friends.

Do not trust yourself and your own knowledge about how to distinguish “non-gold”.

buy gold jewelry only in stores and always keep your receipt.

It is better not to buy such jewelry without first checking it at a jeweler, pawn shop or assay service.

Authentic jewelry from gold 585 samples cannot cost less than one and a half thousand rubles per gram.

There are situations when suddenly they offer a very profitable deal: buy jewelry or items made of gold at an unusually good price. As a rule, such offers come from individuals, and not from jewelry stores. Therefore, the question arises of how to distinguish gold from other metals. Moreover, every year an increasing number of supposedly gold jewelry appears on the unofficial jewelry market, which are actually made of various alloys. Visually distinguishing a fake is quite difficult, although there are several available ways to check the quality of gold without the involvement of experts and laboratory methods. But if the level of counterfeiting is very high, you are unlikely to determine the exact composition of the shiny product being offered to you.

In ancient times, the most common method of determining whether you have gold or not was a mechanical method. In many Westerns and films about pirates, we have seen its use: when gold coins are literally tested by the teeth. This is because gold is a soft metal that will deform slightly when force is applied to it. But in fact, this old-fashioned method is completely imperfect, because, for example, the same lead is also soft, and a bite mark will also remain on its surface. However, you can do without this furious method. There are many simple ways to recognize whether the item in front of you is a fake or a real one.

Affordable Home Remedies for Gold Testing

The easiest way to determine the “solar” metal quickly and accurately at home involves using a small amount of iodine. This simple medicine is sure to be found in every family. All you need for this:

How to recognize gold using iodine

• bottle of iodine;
• cotton swab;
• toothpaste;
• cotton pad.

Dip a cotton swab into iodine and place a dot on the surface of the supposed gold item. It is recommended to do this not in the most visible place of the decoration. For example, if you are faced with the task of checking a gold ring, then do this procedure from the inside of the jewelry.

Further, determining the authenticity of precious metal is quite simple. If after a few minutes the iodine point remains its original dark color, you can be sure that this is gold and not some other metal. But if the speck has acquired a light, milky hue, then in front of you is anything but gold jewelry.

When you have verified the authenticity of the jewelry, you have to wipe off a drop of iodine so that it does not spoil the overall appearance of the jewelry. You can't expect it to wear off over time. To do this, you will need the toothpaste indicated in the list of necessary tools. Apply a small amount to the iodine stain and leave it on for five minutes. Then rub gently with your finger to remove the stain. When it disappears, rinse the jewelry under running water and wipe thoroughly with a cotton pad.

Another quick and affordable way to distinguish real gold from other metals involves the use of vinegar, which is also probably found in every kitchen. Just pour a little vinegar into a clean bowl and dip the product into it. Three minutes is enough to understand the authenticity of gold jewelry. If within three minutes its surface does not become darker than it was initially, this is a good sign. But obvious darkening indicates that the jewelry was made of some other metal. After the experiment, simply wash the product with clean water and dry with a soft towel.

Look in your medicine cabinet and find a lapis pencil. This miracle drug is an antiseptic made on the basis of silver nitrate. It is usually used to get rid of warts, papillomas and other skin problems, but in addition to its direct purpose, it can also be useful to us in distinguishing genuine “solar” metal from others. In particular, it is the easiest way to distinguish real gold from gilding. Unlike iodine, which enters into a chemical reaction with gold, lapis pencil, on the contrary, does not react to it, but actively interacts with other metals. To check the quality of gold jewelry, you need to lightly file the product in an inconspicuous place. Then moisten the pencil with water and apply it to the surface of the file. Wait about five minutes to evaluate the result.

If a dark streak appears from the lapis, it means that this is a fake.

Popular laboratory methods for gold analysis

More serious methods of verifying the authenticity of gold jewelry are used in pawnshops and in production. Among the most commonly used laboratory testing methods are the following:

• drip method;
• use of touchstone;
• use of nitric acid;
• assay analysis;
• instrument testing;
• X-ray inspection.

The drop method for testing gold quality is a bit similar to the home method using iodine. But only in the laboratory are more complex chemical solutions used for this purpose. They interact with the ligatures that make up the gold alloy and change their color. Thus, these solutions indicate what alloys (metals) are included in gold and their quantity. For a quality test, not only the chemical solution is important, but also the qualifications of a specialist who wants to distinguish gold from other metals used in the jewelry industry. He must be able to see the slightest differences in color during a chemical reaction.

One of the chemical elements often used to analyze the composition of gold is chlorine. If it is used, the color of gold will take on a different shade - depending on the standard of the precious metal. If during the analysis a green speck appears on the gold surface, this indicates that sample 375 was tested. The most popular 585 yellow or red gold is characterized by the appearance of a light brown speck. But on white gold of a similar standard, during a chemical reaction, a spot of a golden hue or orange color will appear.

To determine the quality of gold jewelry, many pawnshops use a touchstone - a black block with a rough surface.

It is a fine-grained siliceous shale. To check the quality of a gold product, the specialist first rubs the touchstone with almond oil and wipes it dry using special filter paper. Then he draws a one and a half centimeter line on the surface of the touchstone with the gold jewelry. After this, the specialist applies strokes to the stone with special needles indicating the gold standard. After this, he applies a little nitric acid across all the strokes. During the chemical reaction, the alloys begin to oxidize, and the lines acquire different colors, by which the quality of the analyzed gold object is judged.

The colors obtained from the strokes of the assay needles are compared with the color of the stroke of the gold product. With which of the strokes the color matches, that sample will be the analyzed gold object. If the shade of the line left by the item being tested on the touchstone is darker than the shade of the matching needle, there is reason to be wary. This means that the sample applied to the surface of the jewelry being tested is actually lower than specified. If the color of the line does not coincide with any of the other lines, it means that the product being tested is not made of gold, but of another metal.

Precious metal shades

Complex laboratory analysis

You can use nitric acid to test gold without manipulating a touchstone or special needles. To do this, the laboratory takes a sterile metal container into which the gold item being tested is placed. Using a pipette, a small amount of nitric acid is dropped onto the surface. Real gold will not react in any way to this interaction, but other metals will show themselves by changing their shade. Depending on the composition of the item, it may change color to green or milky. A greenish tint indicates that the jewelry is only covered with a layer of gold plating, but its base consists of another metal. And the milky tint says that this is high-quality silver with gilding. But in any case, the jewelry being tested is definitely not made of gold.

Hallmark analysis is not suitable for determining the authenticity of small jewelry; it is more often used when you need to know the quality of gold bars or other massive gold objects. This is due to the fact that during laboratory manipulations, in order to distinguish gold, a piece is sawn off from the product as an analyzed sample. This piece is heated to a very high temperature at which it melts. This gold liquid is then combined with liquid silver and lead. These elemental agents, at the end of a long analysis process, separate and collect the pure gold. The resulting sample is weighed to determine how pure the original sample was.

Today, there are more modern methods of how to accurately distinguish gold from other various metals without causing harm to the product.

In particular, electronic testers can be used. There are units for both laboratories and individuals. True, due to the high cost of these devices, you rarely see them in small pawn shops, much less in someone’s home. The operating method of such electronic testers is based on the use of special liquids to scan a sample. After checking, the device determines the purity of the gold and displays its numerical value on the screen.

An even more expensive method for determining the purity of gold can only be used in professional laboratories, as it involves interaction with X-rays. This complex process allows not only to distinguish pure gold from other metals, but also to obtain a complete report on the composition of the gold alloy. The advantage of this method is that the analyzed jewelry will not be subject to mechanical stress.

Methods for checking gold items in a store

Particularly difficult is the task of distinguishing gold from other metals with similar external characteristics without leaving the store display. After all, the seller will probably not allow iodine to be dripped onto jewelry, much less scratch its surface in order to get to the bottom of the truth. In this case, you will have to rely on the seller’s honesty and the good name of the jewelry store. But when you are on vacation, for example, in Turkey or Egypt, where you have taken a fancy to some kind of gold jewelry, it is quite difficult to rely on the honesty of the store, since ordinary tourists simply do not know which jewelry chains there can be trusted. Then you need to be vigilant and carefully examine the gold item you are purchasing, at least visually.

What should you pay special attention to? First, study the hallmark, which must be applied to the surface of the jewelry. As a rule, the values ​​are very small and difficult to see with the naked eye, so ask the seller to give you a magnifying glass, or use vision glasses. Study the sample carefully. If you notice that the numbers on the stamp “jump” or their outlines are very illegible, this may indicate that you have a low-quality product. This method of visual analysis will not be able to completely protect you from buying a fake, since only a professional appraiser can do this, but it may stop you from making a quick purchase if in doubt. If you, in principle, could not find a test mark, then you can safely leave the jewelry store, since they are definitely trying to sell you a fake, and a low-quality one at that.

Be sure to ask the seller to demonstrate a quality certificate confirming the composition of the gold alloy, with an exact indication of the alloys included in it and their quantity. Check that the certificate has the seals and signatures of the responsible persons.

When you plan to buy gold jewelry at a pawn shop, second-hand store, or simply secondhand, you should also pay attention to the overall appearance of the jewelry. Make sure that the uniformity of the gold coating is the same in all places. Pay special attention to the edges of the jewelry, as well as where it touches the skin. If you notice that other metal is visible in areas of wear, refuse to purchase as it is not real gold. Most likely this item is made of a different metal and simply has gold plating.

At the same time, if you are dealing with a product made of real gold, the color of its surface may also differ slightly, but precisely in the richness of the golden hue. This is especially true for items consisting of several elements, such as a bracelet or watch. Where the two links meet, the gold surface will be a little brighter. Soldering of products is done using gold solder of a higher standard, since such gold melts more easily. And at the junctions this moment can be noticeable.

Some craftsmen have learned to very skillfully counterfeit gold jewelry, as well as the precious metal itself. Therefore, for people who rarely deal with jewelry, it can be difficult to distinguish real gold from fake.

Perhaps, the probability of buying an authentic product in jewelry stores is much higher than in a stall, underground passage or in a regular market. However, having decided to buy a gold chain in a reputable store, you should not be overly gullible: after all, there, mixed with original rings, bracelets and earrings made of gold, they may well sell fakes.

There are many methods you can use to test the quality of gold at home. However, we must remember that these methods are only suitable for distinguishing crude fakes.

How to distinguish gold from fake

1. To check the authenticity of gold jewelry, pay attention to whether it has special markings. The hallmark can indicate the purity or fineness of the gold in karats (10K, 14K, 18K, 22K or 24K). The mark cannot always be distinguished if you are dealing with antiques. But, counterfeit products may also have a mark - in this case, an assessment of the product by an expert is required.

2. You can judge the quality of gold items by their reverse side. If, when examining jewelry offered by jewelry stores, you see that the inner surface has been professionally processed, the likelihood that the product is fake is significantly reduced.

3. An ordinary magnet will help you check gold for authenticity. The fact is that the precious metal gold is not attracted to it. If the product sticks to the magnet, this means that this is a fake. But do not forget that scammers may well use magnetic-passive components in counterfeit jewelry.

4. At home, you can do the test with gold jewelry and an unglazed ceramic plate or just a piece of ceramic. Run the gold over the surface of the plate. If after this a dark stripe appears on the jewelry, it is fake. If the trace has a golden color, it means the metal is precious.

5. Some people believe that real gold can be identified by its characteristic sound: when it hits a smooth hard surface, the product should produce a crystal ringing sound. But you shouldn’t place too much hope on this method of identifying gold. After all, only a person with unique hearing can distinguish the sound of a ring made of natural gold and an alloy ring. Moreover, this method is not suitable for checking long products - a gold chain or bracelet.

6. Also, ordinary vinegar and iodine will help you understand that this is real gold and not its imitation. If the jewelry changes color to a darker color after you dip it in vinegar, this is an indication that the gold is not real. A similar procedure can be done with iodine. You need to apply a couple of drops to the metal and wait about five minutes. If the color of the product has not changed, there is no need to worry about its authenticity.

7. Lapis pencil is used to treat warts, skin cracks and small bleeding wounds. However, it can also be used to verify the authenticity of gold. Simply use a pencil to draw a small line on the metal dipped in water. If a dark spot appears on the surface of the product, know that the gold is not real. This is an express method, since the metal is oxidized almost instantly.

Often when purchasing jewelry you may not be sure of its origin. To check the authenticity of gold, you can use improvised means and preparations that are in every home medicine cabinet. However, you need to understand that the listed methods are powerless if you come across high-quality counterfeit gold jewelry.

Recently, the following trend has been noticed: despite a significant decrease in the mined precious metals, the number of new jewelry stores and showrooms opening every day is steadily growing. What is this due to - the dishonesty of jewelry manufacturing companies or the growing demand for jewelry not made of precious metal? It is worth noting that the quality of many precious products is questionable, and even special examination cannot always give a high-quality result. Usually, not the entire product is sent for examination, but part of it, for example, a lock from a chain or several links of a bracelet. In this case, only the top coating is checked, the expert makes a conclusion that the jewelry is made of gold, and a fake product with a small content of this precious metal appears on the store counter and awaits its buyer. Therefore, you need to know how to distinguish gold from a fake, so as not to buy jewelry that is actually worth nothing.

How to distinguish gold: features

Real pure gold has a rich yellow color, but it is very soft and malleable, making it impossible to make jewelry from it. Therefore, for a very long time, compounds that increase its strength have been mixed into pure gold. For example, the most common yellow gold contains copper and silver. Typically, such gold contains all components in equal proportions. Every specialist knows that any piece of jewelry, even the highest quality, is not made of pure gold, but of its alloy, and some dishonest jewelry makers take advantage of this for their own benefit. If you do not want to be deceived and want to know how to distinguish gold from its likeness, you need to adhere to some rules on how to recognize a noble metal in a product. These tips will protect you from unpleasant situations.

The main signs of real gold

How to distinguish gold? Firstly, most often you risk purchasing fake jewelry if you are going to buy it in some kiosks, stalls, in underground passages or at the bazaar. Therefore, give preference to specialized jewelry stores and showrooms that sell products from famous factories in Russia and abroad. Buying jewelry in a store will cost more, but will reduce the risk of encountering counterfeit gold.
Secondly, if you want to know how to identify gold, carefully examine the tag. The name of the manufacturer, the article number of the product, the price per gram and for the entire product as a whole, the total weight of the product, the sample and the stamp of the technical control department must be indicated on the jewelry tag. Third, try to examine the sample. On a product made of real gold, the hallmark will be mandatory. The sample indicates the content of pure metal in the product. The most popular hallmarks are 585 and 750, which indicate they contain 58.5% and 75% pure gold, respectively. However, in Turkey they put any sample that the buyer wants right at the point of sale, so you shouldn’t trust such tests, it’s better to refuse the purchase. Do not buy a product if you cannot see the sample, it is unclear or blurry. Most likely, this is a fake. The Turk will not tell you how to distinguish gold from its likeness, because he is not selling real gold. Finally, carefully inspect the inside of the product you are purchasing. It should be smooth, polished, without any irregularities or roughness.

In addition to the absence of flaws, a good sign will be a print or logo of the manufacturer on the reverse side of the product.

This concerns ways to independently distinguish real gold from fake gold within the framework of a simple inspection.

Professional jewelers and self-taught craftsmen can easily determine the authenticity of a product made of precious metals with the naked eye. For the average consumer, characterizing a gold product is a complex task that requires attention, certain skills and available materials. To avoid being deceived by scammers and to protect yourself from purchasing a fake, you need to know how to test gold for authenticity at home.

Before the invention of modern precious metal analyzers, training videos and reagents, experts tested gold jewelry using simple but effective methods.

Visualization

Determination “by eye” allows you to determine the presence of gold markings (up to 999 fineness) or the mass of an object in carats.

Checking with a magnifying glass will simplify the task, since the markings on the metal are applied very finely. The mark must be clear, even, with distinguishable markings and proportional edges. Rare exhibits and objects made of old gold cannot be checked visually: the sample may be deformed.

A visual test allows you to identify a gold-plated object in places of bends and fastenings: if there is a different alloy under the precious metal, the product will become discolored over time. Genuine gold becomes brighter in places of folds and fastenings, but does not lose its yellowish tint.

Testing gold “to the point”

The favorite method of film directors to distinguish gold from gilding is still effective today. Gold is soft, so when you bite into it, it will leave a slight mark on the alloy. Its depth depends on the sample: the higher it is, the more prone the product is to deformation.

It is not necessary to bite the product: a small clamp or puncture is no less practical. It is prohibited to check goods in stores this way. Before leaving a mark on the product, you must ensure the owner’s consent.

The time-tested method is not 100% reliable: if the lead is gold-plated, there will be a mark after biting.

Determining the authenticity of metal by smell

Smell testing is a simple method on how to test gold at home. Precious metal has no odor. If, when you bring the product to your nose, a pronounced metallic smell appears, then this indicates a counterfeit item. To make it easier to recognize a fake, you should rub the product.

Solar method

In clear weather, it is easy to distinguish between gold and fake. When the precious metal is brought to an illuminated surface and back, it does not lose its visual advantages: the gold both glittered and will continue to glitter with the same brightness. The gold plating will lose its reflectivity and fade.

Rule of musical ear

The ability of precious items to ring like rock crystal when heavy objects fall onto the surface distinguishes them from gold-plated trinkets. Jewelers note the effectiveness of the sound method in determining the quality of a product, but the appraiser must have an ear for music. You can check a gold ring, earrings and other items that do not consist of several links in this way.

Gold vs. Gold – check with another gold jewelry

It is effective to distinguish a noble metal from a fake at home if you have a gold product of the same standard and parameters.

You should hold two objects with equal pressure on a hard, flat surface. The pressure marks must be identical. If the density, width, and depth of the grooves are different, the product being tested is counterfeit.

How to identify real gold using reagents and special items

Reaction or chemical inertness upon contact with other elements and substances are effective methods for distinguishing real gold from a fake.

Reaction with iodine

Testing gold with iodine gives a 100% result, but after it you should clean the product from traces (by placing it in a glass of Coca-Cola for 5 minutes). Iodine is applied to the inside after scratching the application area with an abrasive or sandpaper; 1 drop is enough.

The noble metal reacts and the color of the object changes. The counterfeit product does not darken after iodine.

Gold and vinegar

After immersing the product in a container with vinegar for 5 minutes, you should wait for the absence/presence of traces on the surface of the product. Testing gold with vinegar is similar to the method using iodine: there will be no reaction on the noble metal. The forged metal will turn black.

Nitric acid and gold

How to determine the quality of a product using nitric acid? The same as with other reagents. A real noble metal does not darken and does not react to acid.

How to spot a fake using ammonia

Ammonia removes traces of darkening on jewelry, so by wiping the item with a dampened cloth, experts determine the quality of gold at home. Black marks, surface abrasion and tarnishing indicate that the alloy has been gilded. Real gold does not change its appearance when exposed to ammonia, except for the disappearance of dark traces during use or contamination of the noble metal.

Magnetic method

An easy way to determine whether it is gold or not is to use a magnet. Jewelry made of precious metal is not attractive, unlike fakes. To determine the authenticity of gold, special magnets purchased in a store are suitable, and not souvenirs from the sea. Copper, bronze or aluminum will also not interact with a magnet.

Ceramic surface as a way to protect yourself from counterfeiting

The unfired ceramic tile method accurately determines whether a product is a fake. Rubbing a ring or other precious metal object against ceramics leaves a yellowish mark. After the test, a fake will reveal itself by the presence of a dark stripe on the ceramic.

A piece of ceramic tile purchased at a home improvement store or an ordinary plate can be used as a tester.

The method is effective if you wet the product with water before use. After running a pencil over the surface, there should be no traces left - they mean a fake.

Folk way

Craftsmen learned to counterfeit jewelry back in the old days, so buyers have long learned how to distinguish gold from a fake at home. Bread crumb is a faithful assistant for determining the quality of the metal. By leaving the product inside the crumb for 48 hours, past experts looked for green or dark marks on the surface. They indicate a product made from cheap alloys.

Archimedes' method

The great scientist and thinker studied metal using mathematical calculations and formulas. He placed the piece of jewelry in a flask of water and measured the amount of substance displaced. The data corresponded to the parameters of a noble metal. The method is not suitable for hollow jewelry (“blown” rings, chains).

The use of touchstone has been known for a long time. It determines the gold standard and allows you to identify a fake. After rubbing the stone with almond oil, you should draw a line on its surface. An assay needle is used to mark product samples. By dripping nitric acid onto the strokes, reaction experts determine the conformity of the declared sample and the nobility of the metal.

Modern precious metal analyzers

Mobile analyzers use X-rays to determine metal markings, identify counterfeits and measure the proportion of ligature. Scope of application: pawnshops, jewelry stores and centers for receiving/delivering products made from precious metals.

How to distinguish gold from copper

Copper resembles gold in appearance and is often used as an alloy metal. To avoid counterfeiting, you should pay attention to the sample of the product (corresponds to the marking of jewelry made of precious metal) and appearance. The shade of copper is reddish, gold is yellowish.

Copper tends to darken over time, and gold jewelry never changes color and brightness, but is subject to deformation, since the metal is very soft.

How to distinguish gold from pyrite

Pyrite is called “false gold” because of its external similarity to the noble metal. It refers to iron sulfide, a mineral.

Element differences:

pyrite has a sulfur smell;
when exposed to a sharp object, a dent will remain on the gold, and the pyrite will split;
Pyrite does not shine in the shadows, unlike gold, which has a constant calm shine outside the light source.

How to avoid fraud when buying precious metals

Methods for determining the authenticity of gold at home are used in the absence of the possibility of professional examination of the product.

When purchasing expensive jewelry you should:

buy goods labeled as being of adequate quality.
Pay attention to the availability of supporting documents and certificates.
Visually check the quality and price compliance.
Don't react to too low a price. Promotions do not always mean benefits: sometimes sellers reduce the price for defects or low-quality goods.

Conclusion: It is easy to distinguish gold from fake at home, but independent methods should be used if it is not possible to turn to a professional. You should not purchase goods from unregistered retail outlets or from suspicious persons. Marking does not always mean the nobility of the metal. To instantly determine the authenticity, a visual check is suitable, the absence of odor and abrasions with signs of a different alloy in the product.