How to distinguish gold from bronze. How to distinguish gold from fake and brass. Testing real gold for quality

A sign of the times is the emergence of more and more jewelry stores, their number is steadily growing, and the quality of the jewelry products offered is increasingly being questioned. But they are made quite skillfully. Even specialists cannot always guarantee.

In addition, only a small specific segment of the jewelry is subject to inspection. Having superficially checked the product (no more is required from him), the expert confirms its authenticity and the fake, containing a minimum of pure metal, is sent for sale to the store.

Nobody wants to become a victim of deception and give money for fake jewelry. Then it makes sense to learn how to identify pure gold from counterfeit yourself. First of all, you need to know something about gold itself and its characteristics. Additionally, here you will receive some tips on how to distinguish gold from gilding.

Rare earth precious metal yellow in color. Does not oxidize and does not lose its properties over time. Due to its plasticity and softness, it can be easily processed using both cold and melting methods. Its softness does not allow it to be used as jewelry in its pure form.

To make jewelry, harder metals are added to give it hardness, such as silver or copper. All so-called gold jewelry are alloys.

Any jeweler is well aware of the ratio of gold in the alloy. Some of them, especially unburdened by conscience, use this knowledge for their own selfish purposes. But there are some rules that can help determine whether the gold you are being offered is real or a cheap fake.

Buy gold only in reputable jewelry stores operated by jewelry factories, but not in boutiques and small stalls. The cost will, of course, be more expensive, but there will be less risk of buying a fake.

A real ingot must be marked with data about the sample. A careful study of the tag will tell you about the manufacturer, the price per gram and for the entire jewelry as a whole, weight, sample. There must be an OTK stamp. The sample indicates the content of pure gold in the jewelry.

The most popular are 585 and 750. This means that they contain 58.5% and 75% pure gold, respectively. When the sample is found, you should carefully examine the clasp of the bracelet or earring. If there are scratches on them, then you should not take this product.

The reason here is the following. In bracelets, chains and earrings, the sample is placed on the clasps. And suppliers only send locks for inspection and, after inspection, calmly place them on gold-plated fakes.

Finally, you should find the logo or imprint of the manufacturing company on the reverse side of the jewelry. The method described now relates to the visual assessment of gold.

But this is also not an indicator of reliability, since in Turkey, for example, they can give you any test before your eyes. Yes, and not only there. A fuzzy, blurry sample is the first sign of a fake; such gold should not be taken. The second detail that you should pay attention to is the inside of the product, which should be perfectly mirror-like, without any irregularities or roughness.

Now about how to recognize a fake from pure metal.

have long been known ways to determine real gold:

To the sound. You need to throw the product onto any perfectly smooth, hard surface. For example, a table. Pure, crystal ringing will testify to pure gold. However, this method is not suitable for chains and bracelets.
"On the tooth". This method has been around as long as gold. It was also used by our ancestors, who literally tested the authenticity of real metal. A fake is always solid. If you scratch it, then under the top layer of gold there will be a dark-colored alloy.
Vinegar test. When placed in vinegar or treated with vinegar (drop it on the jewelry), real gold will remain unchanged. The fake will darken in two minutes.
Iodine test. Drop onto the surface of the product. Real gold will not react to this in any way. The fake will have a light to black stain.
Pencil to stop bleeding (lapis pencil). Moisten the surface a little and apply a line. The gold will not react, and the fake will instantly oxidize and darken.
Solar way. The simplest authentication method. Examine the jewelry in the shade and immediately take it out into the sunlight and examine it again. Real gold will shine equally in the shade and in the sun. The fake looks dull and faded in the shade, but shines in the sun.
Gilding is quickly determined by silver nitrate(can be bought at the pharmacy). The surface of the product, previously moistened with water, must be wiped with a cotton wool moistened with silver nitrate. The gold will not react and the gold-plated surface will darken.

Now you know how to distinguish gold from gilding or fake. The described methods are quite enough to be able to independently determine the authenticity of your gold jewelry.

Recently, in parallel with the decrease in the amount of gold mined, the jewelry market not only has not been declining, but is constantly growing. There can only be one reason - they are passing off fake gold as real gold. There are many metals and alloys that resemble gold in appearance and, when properly processed, are quite difficult to distinguish. The most common of them is brass. In order not to fall for scammers, you need to know how to distinguish gold from brass.

Now the types of deception are becoming more and more sophisticated. Since the first thing the buyer will pay attention to will be a sample of the product, the following method is used. For example, a gold chain is sent to the assay office for testing, and after the sample is set, some of the links in it are replaced with a different alloy. Or only the lock and a few links are made of gold.

Brass bracelets

In this case, the hallmark will appear on the product, but it will not be able to guarantee its quality. In addition, a brass product may be coated with a thick layer of metal, in which case the assay office will not be able to accurately determine whether the product is entirely made of gold.

Ways to identify gold

1) Previously, more radical methods were used, for example, the product was simply melted. This method is called the Crucible method and is not suitable for identifying counterfeits at home. Besides, after this you will only be left with metal.

2) Then they began to do an analysis using a special stone, acid and needles. The product and needles are passed over the stone, after which the resulting scratches are covered with acid and they are watched to see which of the stripes changes color. Depending on the color of such a strip, experts determine what the metal is made of.

3) If there is a product whose authenticity is beyond doubt, a comparative analysis can be carried out. Take two products and run them across a hard surface - if they both consist of the same gold alloy or gold of the same standard, then the mark from them will be the same. The method is not suitable for comparing products with different samples.

4) You can also use cosmetics for comparison. To do this, rub a small amount of foundation on the back of your hand. After the cream is absorbed, you can run a gold product over it. A gray stripe will remain where the gold touches the foundation. If the product is made of brass, there will be no such stripe.

5) Such a common method in ancient times as testing gold items by tooth is still relevant today. The fact is that gold itself is a very soft metal, unlike brass. However, now an alloy is mainly used to make jewelry, where only a little more than half is gold, so it becomes somewhat more difficult to distinguish this composition. And yet, if you press it with your teeth, you can see a barely noticeable mark.

6) You can also distinguish brass jewelry using a ceramic plate. It is important that there is no glaze coating on it, only pure ceramics. If you run a gold item over it with slight pressure, a gold stripe will remain.

7) Nitric acid will help distinguish a gold product from a gold-plated one and from a fake one. If you place jewelry in a metal bowl and drop acid on it, then nothing will happen to real gold. The fake will change color to green, and the gold-plated metal will take on a milky hue.

Testing gold “to the point”

Differences between gold and brass

To distinguish gold from brass, use one of the following methods.

Carefully inspect the gold item when purchasing. A professional craftsman must have perfect workmanship. The main sign of handicraft production is an ugly reverse side, a non-shiny surface, small cracks or nicks. If you think that the quality of the jewelry is poor or not very good, there is a high risk of running into a fake.

There is an opinion that brass is dimmer than gold, but this is not so. It has no less brilliance and can be polished. Sometimes it is difficult to distinguish gold from brass, especially if you are dealing with 585 samples.

The shade of the product can often vary. If its color is slightly more reddish than normal gold, then the alloy has a higher copper content. If the color is too pale, then most likely the product contains an increased amount of zinc, which also speaks in favor of brass. A ring can become “golden” if it is “yellow copper” or tombac, a type of inexpensive copper alloy used to make coins.

Research prices. Too large a discount or discrepancy with market prices speaks in favor of brass, because even the largest discounts on jewelry cannot bring their value closer to the price of gold set by the Central Bank. You just need to understand that the Central Bank sets the price for pure gold, the price of the alloy will be proportional to its content.

How to determine brass at home:

Find a product that you are confident in, and preferably the same size as the one you want to test. The next method will be based on the fact that gold and brass have different densities: 19.3 g/cm3 for gold and 8.5 g/cm3 for brass. A piece of gold will have to weigh more than twice as much. In order to determine, you will need accurate scales, for example, kitchen or pharmacy scales.
If you throw both items on glass, the gold one will make a crystal clear sound.
The strength of gold and brass also differs; it will not be difficult to scratch a brass product, which cannot be said about gold.
If you apply gold chloride to a gold surface, the reaction will not occur; its presence indicates a different origin of the metal.
If you have gilding in front of you, then most likely it will not have an assay mark. Since in order to test the product, it is necessary that there is a sufficient layer of gold there.
Another common method is using iodine. The fact is that gold reacts with this chemical element and stains form on it. But be careful, such stains are difficult to remove later.

Testing brass and gold with iodine

If you moisten the product with water and rub it with a lapis pencil, the copper that is part of the brass will darken. 585 gold will not change color, since it is inert towards it. You can also get tools for checking the authenticity of gold and even determining its purity from a specialized jewelry store.

All of the above folk methods are good, however, they will not give a 100% guarantee that the product is not a fake. More and more new technologies are being invented by scammers to make the differences less noticeable. You can determine this more accurately if you seek help from a professional appraiser or jewelry maker.

Gold has always been and remains the most stable way to invest capital. After all, this precious metal practically does not lose its value and is constantly growing in price. It is not surprising that the business of counterfeit jewelry attracts all kinds of dishonest dealers and brings huge profits to scammers. This article will tell you how to distinguish gold from a fake and not become a victim of crooks.

Features of the precious metal

Pure gold has a rich yellow color and differs from other metals in its softness and ductility. And to give strength to jewelry, copper or silver, as well as other substances, are always added to it. So no piece of jewelry can be made of “pure gold.” Fineness is precisely the percentage of pure metal. For example, the product should contain 58.5% gold, and the rest should be impurities. Only bank bars that have gold can be called “clean”. But such gold is not used in the manufacture of jewelry. So if the product tag contains 999 purity, then this is an obvious lie.

Are you real?

The best way to distinguish gold from a fake is to take it to a specialist for inspection. But if you can’t visit a jeweler, then you can use a few tips from professionals. First of all, carefully examine the decoration. It must have a special marking that is responsible for the authenticity of the metal. In addition, the gold jewelry must have a hallmark stamped on it; if it is not there, then the weight of the item in carats. A magnifying glass will help make your inspection easier. If the sample has unclear and blurry outlines, then most likely it is a fake. Of course this doesn't apply

But modern fraudsters have learned to put a sample on fakes, so this method does not always help. How to distinguish fake gold if it is hallmarked? First of all, look at the edges and joints of the decoration. Over time, the top layer wears off, and if other metal is visible through it, then this is not a piece of jewelry made of pure gold.

Let's check the teeth

We have all often watched the same scene in movies: a man tests gold “by the tooth.” This method really works, and in this way you can recognize whether the jewelry in front of you is real or fake. Take, for example, a ring or earring and press it with your teeth. Real gold will leave traces, and the deeper they are, the higher the purity of the product. However, there is another soft metal that will also leave dents: lead. So a “tooth test” is not a reliable way to distinguish real gold from a fake. Read on for other methods.

Ceramics to the rescue

There are a huge number of ways to distinguish gold from a fake at home, but now we will talk about the simplest. Take an unglazed ceramic dish and run the gold piece over it using light pressure. Be careful when doing this, as the decoration can be easily scratched. Now look at the result of your actions: if the stripe left by the product is black, then this is a real fake. Gold on this test leaves a yellow line.

Magnet check

For the next method, how to distinguish gold from fake at home, you will need a small magnet. Just do not think that the one that adorns your refrigerator will do. The magnet must be real, heavy and hard. Only this one interacts well with all metals. Bring a gold item to a magnet, and if they are attracted, it means that this is a fake. But sometimes a component is added to jewelry that is attracted by a magnet. In this case, you can confuse real jewelry with a fake. So this method is not the most correct, so it is worth trying other checking methods.

Nitric acid

This chemical solution will easily help identify a fake. How to distinguish gold from counterfeit using it? For the experiment, we will need a small metal dish in which we will place the decoration. Now we drop the solution onto the item from a pipette and observe the reaction: if the decoration has changed color and acquired a greenish tint, then you are dealing with the most ordinary metal. Gilding in this test will take on a milky hue, and only real gold will not change color. Today this is the most reliable way to detect fake metal! But it cannot be said that nitric acid is present in every home, so it is worth learning about other testing methods.

A few more ways

Take a small bowl and pour vinegar into it. Now place the gold jewelry there. If the metal is real, then nothing will happen to it. The fake will darken within two minutes.
Sound check. Throw gold jewelry on the table and listen: the precious metal sounds loudly, like crystal. This test can only be carried out with small items, such as earrings, rings, pendants.
Iodine testing. This chemical element reacts with all metals except gold. To check, apply a drop of iodine to the product, preferably on the inside, and look at the reaction: if the metal has darkened, acquired a light gray or even black color, then the jewelry is fake. Real gold will remain consistently yellow.

How to distinguish gold from fake gilding or copper

All of the above methods are relevant in cases of outright fakery. But how can one recognize whether another metal is hidden under a thin layer of gold and whether the gilding is passed off as a “pure” product? The presence of a sample is no longer an indicator of the authenticity of the metal, so let’s move on to practical tests.

First of all, take a closer look at the decoration; there should be no scratches on it, and the processing should be perfectly smooth. If you notice minor damage, then most likely the jewelry is covered with gold, and only the lock is made of real metal. If everything is clean, then scrape the jewelry in an inconspicuous area. With this test, the gold will remain intact, but the gilding will come off slightly and other metal will be exposed.

An excellent way to distinguish gold from a fake is a lapis pencil. This medical product interacts well with and oxidizes metals, and you can buy it at any pharmacy. Scrape the product a little and wet the area with water. Now you need to follow the scraping with a pencil. All metals except gold will darken.

How to distinguish gold from fake and brass

The most common method of deception in the jewelry market is to pass off brass alloys, which are very similar in appearance, as “pure” gold.

In some cases, only a professional can distinguish a fake, but you can avoid fraud yourself:

Take a closer look at the shade of the product. Any discrepancy with the usual color of gold indicates a large number of impurities.
Before purchasing jewelry, you should find out its regular price. If the price of a product is too low, the likelihood of counterfeiting increases significantly.
Brass and gold differ in chemical composition, and accordingly, they have different weights. That is, identical products will have different masses. Gold is heavier, and jewelry made from the precious metal will weigh more.

Or maybe it's silver?

White gold has recently gained wild popularity. This is due to the fact that products made from such metal are particularly refined and refined. It is not surprising that the market is flooded with fakes from less How to distinguish white gold from a fake? First of all, take a closer look at the color of the product. Silver has a cooler tone. A good test method is a paper test. If you run a silver item over it, an almost imperceptible mark will remain; white gold will not leave it at all. In addition, tests with iodine, vinegar, a magnet and a lapis pencil, which were mentioned above, will help to distinguish the noble metal.

It is best to purchase real jewelry in well-known jewelry stores that value their reputation. And what is especially important - try to avoid shopping in spontaneous markets, stalls, passages or from strangers. This will help you avoid being disappointed and becoming a victim of scammers. Don’t try to save money - and then the decoration will delight you for a long time with its warm color and bright shine.

Unfortunately, today the following trend can be seen in the jewelry market: the amount of precious metals mined is decreasing, and the number of stores offering jewelry to consumers is growing in arithmetic progression. In this regard, each of us needs to learn to distinguish true gold from fake, so that one fine day we do not make an unpleasant discovery for ourselves - the purchased jewelry made of precious metal is an ordinary fake. Meanwhile, a lot of money was paid for it.

Experts note that other metals are often mixed into gold to increase its service life and strength, since the precious alloy wears off quickly due to its softness. For this reason, even a high quality product may not be entirely made of gold.

If you are not sure that you can identify a fake with the naked eye, go for jewelry to branded stores that offer products from well-known foreign and domestic manufacturers. In a large store, the chance of buying a fake is minimized than in a dubious market stall, since reputable stores value their reputation. The purchase will cost more, unless, of course, purchasing a fake product was not part of your plans.

Jewelry made from real gold must have a hallmark. But in Turkey, for example, they will give you any sample you want for your jewelry.

In addition to the hallmark, gold jewelry must have a hallmark, a tag and relevant information about the manufacturer. Fake products, of course, are sold without any tags or labels.

How to determine the authenticity of gold

According to international standards, gold is considered fake if its net weight in the product is less than 10 carats. The surest way to make sure whether it is fake or not is to contact a specialist - a certified jeweler. If this is not possible, you can use the methods that our ancestors successfully used.

Iodine
This is one of the most popular and simplest methods; it is mainly used by hucksters when they buy gold for scrap. Apply a small amount of the substance to the product and wait a few minutes. Then wipe off the iodine with a dry cloth and examine the decoration. If there is a print left on the surface, then this is a fake. If the product has not changed color, then it is real gold.

Magnet
Fraudsters often coat a regular alloy with gold plating. A magnet will help you make sure that what you have in front of you is a fake or jewelry made of natural gold. If the magnet attracts the product, then it is fake. This method is not one hundred percent reliable, since copper and bronze may also not be magnetized, but they are much lighter in weight than gold.

Vinegar
This method works like the previous one. Pour a little vinegar into the container and lower the product there for 5 minutes. After the allotted time has passed, remove and inspect carefully. If the decoration has not darkened, then this is gold.

You can buy it at the pharmacy. Wet the object being tested with water and draw a stripe with lapis. There will be no trace left on the gold jewelry. The advantage of this method is that the metal is oxidized instantly.

Nitric acid
This test will allow you to most reliably determine the authenticity of a gold product. However, it is quite difficult to purchase nitric acid; this method is mainly used by jewelers. Nitrogen does not corrode gold, but if the jewelry consists of any impurities, then during the test it will be hopelessly damaged.

Place the decoration in a clean, dry container and apply a drop of nitric acid to it. If the product:

turned green - in front of you is metal coated with gold plating;
turned white - this is gilded silver of the highest standard;
has not changed color - this is a genuine precious alloy.

Ceramic plate
If you don't have the required plate, you can easily use a shard of ceramic, this will be quite enough. Swipe the decoration over the surface. If a black mark remains on it, the jewelry is fake. But the golden strip remaining on the plate will indicate that the gold is real.

Bite check
This is the oldest method for determining the authenticity of a precious metal. However, this does not mean that it is the ultimate truth, because now gold is practically never found in its pure form; other metals are also added to it.

After biting, there should be teeth marks on the gold, and the deeper the marks, the higher the standard.

Sound check
If you throw a gold item onto a tin surface, it will make a ringing, crystal clear sound. This method, like the previous one, cannot be completely reliable.

Comparison method
Every person has a product that he is absolutely sure is authentic. You can conduct a comparative analysis using real gold jewelry. Draw a line on any flat, hard surface. Draw a line next to the product whose purity you doubt. In theory, if both prints are identical, then both jewelry is genuine. But this method has a significant drawback - the sample may be different, therefore, the lines will be different.

Chlorine gold
When applied to a product made of pure gold, no reaction will follow. The alloy will begin to fizz and oxidize.

Special device
Fortunately, today there is no need to use the old methods to detect fakes. There are special devices that allow you to conduct a rapid test for authenticity. The principle of their operation is the measurement of the electrochemical potential of the surface of an object.

Gold or brass

Most often, brass is passed off as gold, and today's craftsmen have learned to do this so skillfully that it is almost impossible to distinguish real jewelry from a fake, consisting of zinc, copper, lead and other metals. Of course, only a jeweler can do this accurately, but knowing some of the nuances, you can do it yourself:

Authentic jewelry has perfect finishing. Cracks, chips, and nicks should alert you.
The opinion that brass visually appears duller than gold metal is erroneous. If done well, the copy will shine no less than the original.
The reddish tint of the metal indicates that the composition contains copper, pale yellow indicates the presence of zinc.
Gold cannot be cheap. If you are offered to purchase jewelry at a low price, then most likely this is a fake.
If you doubt the authenticity of the metal, scratch the product. If it is a fake, then under the top layer you may find an alloy that is not at all precious.
With changes in daylight, neither in the shade nor in the sun, real gold will not change color.

If after carrying out the tests you still have doubts, take the jewelry to a jeweler, who will make a comprehensive verdict - whether it is a genuine precious metal or not.

Video: how to distinguish gold and silver from other metals

There is a situation in every person’s life when he needs to check the authenticity of a piece of jewelry at home. Moreover, in the modern world, scammers have learned to counterfeit gold jewelry in a way that a professional cannot always tell the difference. Let's look at the 14 most popular ways to do this at home.

How to distinguish from a fake

Of course, the surest way to distinguish gold from a fake is to go to a jeweler. Only he can give a 100% guarantee. However, many workshops charge a good amount of money for this service. If you are not ready to throw money away, try doing it yourself using one of the suggested methods.

By the tooth

One of the easiest ways to verify the authenticity of gold jewelry is the method of our ancestors. You just need to bite him. Real precious metal will always have traces of your teeth. The danger with this experiment is that your teeth may be damaged. Sometimes fakes contain very hard metals.

Stamp and hallmark

Hold the piece of jewelry you want to check. Each gold product has a quality mark - hallmark. In order to examine it, you will most likely need a magnifying glass.

According to worldwide requirements, the sample is placed in the following places:

Sample on chains and bracelets most often placed on a clasp.
There is a stamp on earrings with an English lock on the outer or inner side of the clasp (shackle).
(if the ring has a stone or has a figured addition, the sample should be in the middle).
On a gold watch, the hallmark is located on the inside of the dial itself. In the case where the watch is made entirely of gold (both the dial and the strap), the sample is placed inside the clasp.
On stud earrings, the sample is on the clasp, or very rarely on the leg itself.

Important: The hallmark always accurately indicates the gold purity in numbers (for example, 585).

Interesting fact! In stores we almost always buy 585 gold. However, no one knows that the standard of pure gold without admixtures of other metals is 999. All other samples indicate an alloy. The higher the purity, the more gold it contains.

On rings, look for the mark inside the item.

Sight and sound

In order to check the quality of gold jewelry at home, you just need to throw it on a flat table surface:

Real gold should ring like crystal. Its sound should be very clear.
You can conduct a sound test only with small decorations: earrings, brooches and rings. Bracelets and rings are not suitable for this experiment.
If you have problems with the table, it can be replaced with a glass glass.

It can be quite difficult to identify gold by its appearance. Its color often depends on its subspecies. There is white, yellow, red and rose gold in the world. Moreover, alloys of some less valuable metals give a golden color.

The main external sign of a fake is an excessively yellow color. However, there are also pitfalls here: Turkish gold also has a rich yellow color.

Checking with improvised means

Of course, checking using the above methods does not always give a 100% guarantee that what you are looking at is not a fake. Perhaps you yourself carried out the experiment incorrectly (you didn’t see the sample or the top covering of your table turned out to be too soft) or you still doubt the quality of the gold product.

Then such improvised means as iodine, vinegar and ordinary black bread will come to your aid. Read on to learn how to check.

Iodine

To check authenticity using iodine you need:

Drop on the decoration you want to check, one drop of iodine and wait five minutes.
Wipe the iodine with a tissue or rinse with water. If the jewelry has changed color (darkened) - this is a fake. When darkening, the color of the product changes to gray or black with a greenish tint.

Place one drop of iodine on the jewelry you want to check and wait five minutes

Vinegar

Another easy way to check authenticity is to use regular table vinegar:

To do this, pour it into a ceramic or plastic container.(never in an iron bowl) a small amount of vinegar.
Place decoration in it and leave for a few minutes (at least 5).
Gold will not change the appearance in any way, and the fake will darken.

Nitric acid

Another method of chemically testing gold for authenticity is the reaction to nitric acid:

To conduct the experiment, place the jewelry being tested in a deep metal bowl and drop just one drop of nitric acid on it.
If the product does not change color to green or milky- that means what you see in front of you is not a fake.

To conduct the experiment, place the jewelry being tested in a deep metal bowl and drop just one drop of nitric acid onto it.

Scratch with a needle

You can also check the authenticity of a gold item using a regular needle. To do this, you need to forcefully scrape the jewelry being tested with a needle. Nothing will happen to real gold. But the gilding will come off easily.

Contact with gold

Every person has a gold item, the authenticity of which he has no doubt:

In order to carry out the check you must: draw a line with real gold on a hard surface.
Carry out a similar action on the same surface and with the subject you doubt.
There should be no difference between the lines.

Magnet

Everyone knows that pure gold is not magnetic in any way:

Attach the product to be tested to the magnet and see what will come out of it all.
If the product is even slightly attracted to a magnet, you have an alloy of metals in front of you. Copper can most often be passed off as gold. However, counterfeit gold items often involve metals such as aluminum, copper and tin. They also do not respond to magnetic testing, but are lighter in weight than similar gold products.

lapis pencil

Lapis pencil is a drug for stopping bleeding and treating wounds. You can easily buy it at a pharmacy.

To check the decoration you need:

Wet the product with running water.
Draw a line on the wet product with a lapis pencil.
Wipe off the mark with a dry cloth.

If a pencil mark remains on the surface of the product, this is another fake.

Black bread

For this experiment, you will need a crumb of fresh bread. You can check absolutely any product in this way:

Take the crumb and wrap it there is a piece of gold in it.
Roll into a ball and leave for a couple of days until it gets stale.
When this happens, remove the product from the bread. The appearance of gold will not change in any way, but the alloys will undergo oxidation and change color.

Ceramic tile

If you have untreated ceramic tiles at home, you can use them as a gold test:

To do this, you need to run various metals and products across the tiles., which you want to check.
The trail from it should be golden. Other metals will leave behind black and gray streaks.

Reaction to the sun

For this method of verification, you will have to tell fortunes a little with nature. A bright sunny day is required:

First, carefully examine the product being tested in the shade. Remember how it shines, what color it is.
Now we do the same under direct sunlight. Standing on the street, see if your product looks just as bright and presentable as it did in the shade.
Real gold, never loses its appearance under any weather conditions.

Archimedes' method

This verification method is more suitable for large gold items (for example, gold bars). However, it requires some effort and knowledge.

For this experiment you will need a deep container and water:

Fill the container with water to the brim. First you need to find out how much water you have collected.
Slowly and carefully immerse the gold item into the container. and let the water overflow over the edges (leak out).
Now remember Archimedes' law of expulsion:“A body immersed in a liquid is subject to a buoyant force equal to the weight of the liquid in the volume of the immersed object.”
Using formula F A =pgV, where p is the density of the liquid, g is the acceleration of gravity and V is the volume of the immersed body, we find out the mass of the gold product. The density of water is 900 kilograms per cubic meter.

According to the law of Archimedes, gold must sink. Since its weight is greater than the volume of the displaced fluid.

Every year the value of gold increases. Along with it, the ways of fraud and forgery are growing. In order to reduce the risk of purchasing a counterfeit when purchasing, use the following tips:

Buy jewelry only from trusted stores. You should not purchase the product secondhand or on the street. You should also avoid pawn shops and shops of dubious appearance.
Precious metals are always expensive. If you see a suspiciously cheap product, then most likely this is a fake.
Pay attention to the appearance of the product. It should shine and have an even color. It should be free of scratches, dents and stains.
Oddly enough, gold has no smell. If you are overcome by doubts, no one will forbid you to smell the jewelry in the store. It's better to look stupid than to waste money.

Using these tips, you risk stumbling upon a fake several times less. Well, if you still have doubts, you know how to check the authenticity.