What does 14k plumb gold mean? 

For instance, you might come across a piece of gold jewelry that has a stamp which reads the caratage of the jewelry piece and then ends with KP. For instance, 14KP or, perhaps, 585 KP. Karat Plumb is short for the KP. Of course, the Karat relates to the percentage of gold in the alloy or the purity of the metal and the plumb can be understood as supplementing the idea of ‘exact,’ in the same way we speak about the ‘plumb’ wall meaning the wall is perfectly vertical whereas ‘plum’ surface is ideally horizontal.

In gold bullion terms it means that the gold stamped with the KP is guaranteed to have a gold purity not less than indicated but could possibly be slightly more pure. Thus, for instance, a bracelet made of this metal with the mark 14KP ensures its composition by no less than 58%. 33% gold or more.

Yet another bracelet marked 585 KP guarantees that it is made up of 58. 5% pure gold or more, through participation in auctions, purchases of gold, and sales of jewelry and other related products. 

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Quick Glimpse of KP in the US Market

More to the point the KP stamp is going to do away with the non standard caratage tolerances that some markets offer. In the USA, for instance, gold can be sold at up to 0. 5 carat more than what is actually composed of gold. Therefore, a ring that is marked 14K, can be made of merely 13. 5 carats of gold.

Moreover, while the USA restricts it to having a hallmark that allows only jewelry to be sold as gold with not less than 10 carat purity, the 0. As of this writing 5 carat leeway still applies and 9. Nevertheless, 5 carat is in fact the true minimum. Which means as a consumer you are better off buying a ring with a 10KP stamping than a 10K stamping. 

24k 18k 14k 10k Gold: What Does It All Mean?

Even the natural 24 Karat gold is generally too soft to be incorporated into jewelry; hence, there are alloys that are alway included, regardless of the color of the gold intended for the manufacture of jewelry.

• 18K, 14K or 10K is stated to tell how much gold is included in the jewelry in a pure form.

• The K stands for karat, the system used to state how much pure gold is found in an item.

• 24 K gold is 100 percent gold that is unadulterated by any other metal and thus highly valuable.

• 18 karat gold consists of 18 parts of gold and 6 parts of one or more other metals; therefore, 75 percent gold.

• 14K gold is an alloy composed of 14 parts gold and 10 parts of other metal(s), consequently, 58. 3% gold.

• 10K gold is composed of 10 parts gold and 14 parts of another metal and/or metals which in total is 41%. 7%gold.

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Karat amount states the amount of gold which has been present in the product and the plumb gold is said to be having a gold purity that is not less than the indicated value but can be higher.

In particular, before 1981, producers of exquisite jewelry were able to move 13. 5K gold as 14K gold, in other words, Karat was just rounded up to a greater number. In 1981 the national Gold and Silver Marking Act was passed in the United States that will not allow rounding any karat value upward. 

History of Plumb Gold

It is worth remembering that the term “plumb gold” was mentioned in 1981 only. Prior to that year, the actual karat value of gold jewelry items could be advertised one karat more than the stated karat weight. United States law has since required much stricter policies on gold identification, thus, the need for the plumb gold value mark is useless.

What if you own a piece of gold jewelry which has no manufacturer’s mark on it in any way? A law to provide for the proper stamping of jewelry was enacted in 1906 in Congress. Before this year there were no codes governing gold marking in the United States. If a piece of jewelry has no stamp, and it looks Victorian in appearance it was produced before 1906.

What Potential Has the Concept of Plum Gold in Store for the Consumer

In America trade of gold is allowed to the tune of up to . Plans to reduce the actual fineness of its gold product by 5 karat more than the current actual gold content offered by its competitors. Do you know that a necklace that is branded as 14k gold might contain just 13. 5 karats of gold?

As a consumer you are better off buying gold jewelry that is hallmarked 14K plumb gold (14KP) instead of a piece of 14K gold jewelry that is only marked as 14K. If your gold is not marked by “14KP,” then one should remove about half a karat from the label since if you are buying jewelry made in the United States, it is possibly made of a lower grade of gold. 

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Gold filled vs gold plated vs gold plumb. What’s the Difference?

• 14K plumb gold thus makes inference that it holds at least 14 percent of actual gold value. 0 karats of gold.

• Substantial gold electroplate is usually indicated by the stamp “HEG” for heavy electroplated gold.

• Again, solid gold jewelry is of the most value while gold filled is superior to gold plated.

• Gold filled stands to mean that a thin sheet of gold has been rolled together with base metal which could be either Silver or Brass and they are joined together.

• Gold plating is where only several atoms thick layers of gold are attracted with base metal through electrostatic force.

• Gold plated jewelry items are far less and consist of only trace amounts of gold than gold filled and infinitely less than 14K solid gold jewelry.

• It makes plumb gold, gold filled and gold plated utterly different to each other in meaning and usage.

What’s the Difference?

It also carries the notation of 14K plumb gold which in simple terms means that a piece of jewelry has not less than fourteen carat of gold. 0 karats of gold.

• HEG stands for heavy electro gold plate and plated gold is normally marked “HEG”.

• Among these options, solid gold is the most valuable jewelry, gold filled is in turn superior to gold plated.

• Gold filled means that Gold is bonded to another metal through a rolling process, then applying heat to the rolled base Metal silver or brass among others.

• Most often gold plating is a process in which some thin layer of gold is deposited on base metal due to electrical attraction.

• Gold plated jewelry has a very thin layer of gold, much much thinner than gold filled, and next to 14K solid gold jewelry. 

In the end

A necklace or bracelet having the mark of ‘‘14K plumb gold value (14KP)’’ does mean that the item contains not less than 58. 33% gold or more. Any other necklace or bracelet that is hallmarked 600 KP is assured to have a minimum of 60 per cent pure gold.

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