what does this symbol mean?
The mark 10K stamped in a small oval

10K gold (417)

The metal is 10-karat gold: 10 parts in 24 are pure gold, about 417 in every 1,000.

How to read it

Karat marks count pure gold in 24ths: the FTC’s jewelry guides call fine gold 24 karat, and allow a gold alloy to be marked with its karat figure, with or without the word gold (14 Karat, 14Kt., 14 K.). The UK’s Hallmarking Act gives the parts per thousand for each number of carats, 9 being 375 and 14 being 585, “and so in proportion for any other number of carats”; in proportion, 10 works out at about 417.

Also searched as: 10K, 10 karat, 10KT, 417.

A stamp is a claim about the metal, made by whoever struck it. This page says what each mark means under the rules that define it; it doesn’t test or value anything.

10K or 14K?

10K has less pure gold than 14K, which is 585 parts per thousand.

More jewellery marks

Sources

Last reviewed September 27, 2026 by Rory Hansen. How we research

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