What Do 750 And 585 Mean On Jewelry?

When you buy jewelry from any store, you will see that there is something written on top of it. Now, everyone knows what’s 24 karats in gold but what about the other numbers. When you buy gold, there are some other numbers such as 750 or 585 written on it. Ever wondered what does this means? Is 750 gold pure? Let’s find out here. 

The guide will cover everything you need to know about the mark. We will not just see about the 750 and 585 marks but we will also explore other marks that you normally find in jewelry. It’s always better to know what are you buying before you shop. 

We will begin with the measurement of gold and then we will get to other important characteristics. 

Measurement of Pure Gold

We all know that the numbers written on top of the gold are the measure of purity. It’s the crucial information you have to see when you go jewelry shopping. When it comes to gold, people are always looking for the finest quality of gold and at Jacqueline Pinto we customize your jewelry pieces with the most appropriate purity of gold, for your specific need. 

The purest form of gold is 24 karat. People often call it 24k Gold. If there is 24 karat written on it, that’s the purest quality. 

Here, you need to understand one thing. Even if you get the 24k Gold, it’s not 100% pure. We can say it’s 99.9999 percent pure. 100% pure gold isn’t possible for jewelry. It becomes too soft and hence, it becomes impossible to use it for jewelry or ornaments.  

The next thing you need to know is how we got to the number. For that, we will see how to measure the gold. 

How to Measure  Gold?

The easiest way to measure the gold is to divide it by 24. That is when we get the actual purity of gold. 

For example, if we take the 18k gold and divide it by 24, we get 750. That’s the measurement of purity. Here, we can say that the gold is 750 pure. This is the reason why there is a mark of 750 in the gold. 

In the same way, there is 585. If we take 14k gold and divide it by 24, we get 584 followed by a series of 3s. The number is often rounded to 585. In some countries, the number is round to 583. This is why you will find the mark of 583. 

This was all about why you see the mark on the gold. We will now see all the other marks that you normally see on the jewelry. 

Other Marks on Gold

There are many other marks given on  gold. Let’s learn all of them one by one. 

Most of you might have got the math here. However, if you don’t want to spend time calculating it all by yourself, you can simply check this out. 

Here, if we take 8k gold and divide it by 24, we get 333 followed by infinite 3s. So, it’s considered 333 gold. You will see the mark 333 on top of it. 

• 333 – 3 karat gold. The result is 333.333
• 375 – 9 Karat gold. Usually, this is found in the United Kingdom.
• 417 – 10 Karat Gold. Again, here the number is round to 417. Sometimes, people often consider 417. In the USA, the minimum gold usually sold is 10 karats. So, you should set the mark of 417 or above. 
• 585 or 583 – 14 karat gold. 
• 750 – 18 karat gold. 
• 916 – 22 karat gold. Here, it’s often marked as 917. 22k gold is considered too soft for pure gold jewelry it is usually alloyed with other metals. Therefore, it’s mostly used for the gold leaf or it’s often used for the plating too. 
• 999  – 24 karat gold. 

Hallmarking in the US

We will now learn more about who puts on the mark and why the marks are different. 

In the United States, there is no specific official system for hallmarking. Instead, some agencies are responsible for the hallmarking. The agencies are different depending on the state you are in. 

FTC (Federal Trade Commission) provides the mark to them. We will now see the common marks approved by FTC that you will find the jewelry. 

Common Marks Found in Jewelry

Now, we will learn about some of the most common marks found on jewelry in the United States. We will also see the percentage of purity they have. 

Not all of the above-mentioned marks are available in the jewelry stores of the US, there are few very common marks. Here is the list of the same. 

• 10 karat gold. This is the least popular gold item you will see. It’s just 41.7% gold. The rest of them is other metals. So, we can say that it’s 41.7% pure. 
• If you want to go above 50%, you can go with 14 karat gold which has around 58.5% gold. If you want to go at an affordable price, this one is the best for you. 
• The next is 75% purity. As you might have guessed, you will see the 750 marks here. It’s 18 karat gold.
• The last one is lavish gold. It’s 24 karat gold that has 99.99% gold.

To summarize, this was all about the 750 mark and 585 marks. We know that 750 marks mean 75% purity which is 18 karat whereas 585 means that it’s 58.5% pure gold. If you measure 585 in karat, it’s 12 karat gold. At Jacqueline Pinto we create unique pieces of jewelry we will be able to advice you on the purity of gold to use in your next customized piece.