14K gold (585)

How to read it

The FTC’s jewelry guides allow a gold alloy to be marked with its karat figure, with or without the word gold: 14 Karat, 14Kt. and 14 K. are among their own examples. The FTC’s consumer guide describes a piece marked 14K as 14 parts gold mixed with 10 parts of another metal. The UK’s Hallmarking Act says 14 carats indicates gold of 585 parts per thousand, and 585 is the figure its hallmark strikes for that standard, which is why the same gold can be stamped 14K in one country and 585 in another.

Also searched as: 14K, 14 karat, 14KT, 585.

What’s the difference between 14K and 18K gold?

The share of pure gold. Under the Hallmarking Act’s table, 14 carats is 585 parts per thousand and 18 carats is 750. Below 14K sits 10K, at about 417.

14K and 585 are not quite the same number

Fourteen twenty-fourths works out at 583.3 parts per thousand; the Hallmarking Act’s table rounds 14 carats up to 585. The two systems also treat a shortfall differently. A UK hallmark means the metal is not less than the fineness indicated, in the words of the assay offices’ guidance notes. The US Stamping Act lets the gold fall short of the marked fineness by up to three parts per thousand, or seven when the whole article is assayed with its solder (three for a watchcase or flatware). The FTC’s guides repeat those tolerances.

The half-karat tolerance

The three-parts-per-thousand rule dates from the Gold Labeling Act of 1976, which replaced the Stamping Act’s original allowance of one-half of one carat, and one carat for the whole article with its solder. The change took effect five years after the Act was passed, in 1981, and did not apply to articles a manufacturer or importer had sold before then.

What “solid gold” means

Not hollow. The FTC’s guides say a piece of gold alloy with a hollow center should say so beside the word gold (their examples are 14 Karat Gold-Hollow Center and 14 K. Gold Tubing), and should not be marked or described as solid; 14 Kt. Solid Gold is their example of a misleading mark on such a piece. The FTC’s consumer guide says solid gold means the item isn’t hollow, and that it will also carry a karat mark.

White 14K and rhodium

The FTC’s guides call it deceptive to fail to disclose a surface layer of rhodium on products marked or described as precious metal. In the UK, rhodium plating is ignored when an assay office decides which hallmarks to strike, and the assay offices’ guidance notes say plating applied after hallmarking must not exceed 2 micrometres on any part of the article.

Parts that don’t count

A 14K mark does not cover every bit of metal in the piece. The FTC’s guides list parts that are not considered in any assay of karat gold, among them springs, posts, and bracelet and necklace snap tongues. Their guides also call “14K/Sterling” misleading on a piece that contains more silver than gold by weight.

14 carat in Britain

The standard is newer in Britain than 9 or 18 carat. Birmingham Assay Office’s timeline records that 15 and 12 carat gold were discontinued in 1932 and 14 carat introduced. Au 585 is one of the five standards the Hallmarking Convention says are legal in every member state.

A 14K mark on one part

A quality mark need not describe the whole piece. The FTC’s guides say that where a quality mark applies to only part of a product, that part should be disclosed if the mark’s position would otherwise misrepresent the product. In the UK, gold articles under 1 gram are exempt from hallmarking.