
With the holidays quickly approaching jewelry is a natural choice for many people in search of a gift. However, sometimes understanding the language of of jewelry can be complicated to understand. There is a whole set of terms and abbreviations that are used in the jewelry industry, but to be sure that you are purchasing a quality piece you must make sure that you take the time to understand what each of them means. Comprehension of jewelry markings and terms is an essential part of the jewelry shopping process.
Gold
Gold is one of the most popular mediums that jewelry can be crafted out of, and due to that popularity you want to be sure that you are getting top quality gold in your pieces. Gold is available in a variety of carats. You can typically find gold in either 10K, 14K, or 18K. The “K” stands for karat. Basically gold in its purest form is rated at 24 karats. Jewelry cannot be made out of 24K gold because it is too soft to stand up to the wear and tear on its own. Instead, jewelry makers mix the gold with other metals to strengthen it. So for example 14K gold has 14 parts of gold mixed with another metal. 18K has 18 parts and so on and so forth.
Marking Explained
Here is a break down of some of the imprints that you may find on gold jewelry:
K = Karat
GF = Filled with gold
GS = Gold Shell (Gold covering another metal)
KP = Karat Plumb, which is the precise amount of gold in the piece.
Silver
Silver jewelry is becoming increasingly popular. Due to that you will want to be sure that you understand the terms associated with silver. Silver that is used to make jewelry is typically referred to as sterling silver. Genuine sterling silver is actually 92.5% of silver mixed with an alternate metal like copper. Due to this you may find the decimal .925 imprinted on your jewelry. This means that the silver that you are looking at purchasing is the top quality that you can expect. However, you may find some other markings on the jewelry like Sterling or Taxco. These are also used to indicate the quality of product that you are dealing with.
Platinum

Though platinum may look similar to silver or white gold it is drastically different. Platinum is substantially more rare and more expensive that the other two metals and you will want to be sure that you are getting genuine platinum when you are paying the price for it. The most traditional marking that you will see is Pt which is actually the atomic symbol for platinum.. Often you will find it stamped on the jewelry, but you may also find a marking like Pt 900 or Pt950. These markings indicate the concentration of pure platinum much like the karat markings on gold. For platinum jewelry, 900PT is 90% platinum; 950PT is 95% platinum. Platinum jewelry is often purchased for its beauty as well as to avoid earring allergies.
Gemstones
Jewelry maker quite often utilizes the use of gemstones in them. There are a variety of stones that can be used ranging from semi-precious to precious stones. These stones are actually ranked with a system that has been developed by gemologist. Basically, this system rates each stone based on three of the 4 C’s. The 4 C’s are generally what are used by consumers to buy gemstones, and they stand for cut, clarity, color, and karat.
Cut
The cut refers to the shape that the gem is cut into. This can be one of many different choices, but some of the most common are round, square, marquis, or emerald. Basically different cuts give the stone different numbers of reflective surfaces. The more faces the gemstone has the bigger amount of sparkle the stone will produce. So consequently a round diamond will create more sparkle than an emerald cut diamond due to it having more surfaces to reflect the light off of.
Clarity
Clarity refers to how clear the stone is. Basically there are very few stones that are considered flawless meaning that they have no inclusions, or visible marks on them. There is a range that is used to indicate how clear a gem is. An F rating means that it is flawless where as an I3 rating means that you can see several inclusions with the naked eye. Below you will find a breakdown of the clarity rating system.
F = Flawless
IF = Cannot see any inclusions with 10x magnification
VVS1 and VVS2 = Has some inclusions, but they are difficult to see with 10x magnification
VS1 and VS2 = Small inclusions that are difficult to see with 10x magnification
SI1 and SI2 = Visible inclusions that can be see with 10x magnification
I1, I2, and I4 = Visible inclusions without magnification
Color
Color labels the color quality of the gemstone. This can vary from stone to stone, and what you want from stone to stone will also vary. If you are shopping for diamonds you are going to want to get as close to colorless as you can where as if you are purchasing an emerald or a ruby chances are that you are looking for a more rich and saturated hue.
Learn specifically about diamond markings and quality in our diamond buying guide
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Lastly, karat refers to the size of the gemstone. Just as karat in gold illustrates how much of the metal is pure gold, the karat of a gemstone illustrates its relative size.
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