How To Check Fake Gold Vs. Real Gold At Home?

 Identifying fake gold at home can be tricky, which is why you need to use multiple methods to get an estimate

People buy gold from various sources including jewelry shops and even online. There are also various luxury items such as gold watches, pens, gadgets, art and crafts, etc. One may receive gold as gift from family or friends as well.

Technically, the best way to test gold is via a digital gold tester or an X-Ray Fluorescence (XRF) analyzer. However, if you just want a rough estimate, you do not need such tools. There are various methods you can use to check fake gold vs. real gold in a home environment. Described below are some options you can consider.

Nitric acid test - This can actually help you determine the gold's approximate purity, if you use the relevant strength of nitric acid. You can buy the relevant nitric acid solution or create your own. For a rough estimate, you can use any nitric acid that is available at home. In this test, you need to rub the gold on a testing stone to scrap some of the material. A drop of nitric acid is then applied to see if it reacts with the metal. If it is real gold, the nitric acid will not react. But if gold purity is low or the gold is fake, the nitric acid will create color changes and bubbles.

Rubbing test - In this test, you need to rub the gold item on an unglazed ceramic tile or plate. If it is real gold of high purity, you will see a gold-colored streak on the tile. But if it is low purity or fake gold, you may see colors like black or green. There could be no streak as well, depending on the metal used. Since gold plated items can also leave a golden streak, you need to rub with some pressure to remove the top layer.

Magnet test - This test has limited scope, but can still be useful if you have nothing else handy. You will need a strong neodymium magnet for this test. If it is real gold with high purity, the magnet will not show any reaction. But if there are mixed metals such as iron or nickel, the magnet will stick to the item. This test fails in cases where other non-magnetic materials such as copper or brass is used.

Visual inspection - With a magnifying glass or jeweler’s loupe, you can try to find any markings on the gold item. For example, you may see markings such as 10k, 14k, 18k, 22k, etc. Jewelers may also carve their initials into the gold item.

Weight test - Gold has a higher density than most other metals commonly found in homes. That means it is heavier than most commonly used metals. In a home environment, you can simply take the gold item in one hand and a similar sized metal in the other hand. If the gold is real, it will feel heavier than the metal in your other hand. Gold has a density of 19.32 g/cm³. This is much higher than iron, steel, aluminum, brass, silver and lead.

With these tests, you can get a rough idea about the purity of the gold item. For buying/selling and commercial applications, you have to rely on proper gold testing tools, as available with jewelry shops and labs.

source : newspatrolling.com