Gold karats explained: 24K, 21K, 18K and 14K
What the karat number actually measures, how purity trades against hardness, and which karat suits which piece.
Karat measures how much of an alloy is gold, in parts of twenty-four. Pure gold is 24 parts out of 24. Everything below that has other metals mixed in — usually copper, silver or zinc — and the number tells you how many parts of the mix are gold.
| Karat | Parts gold | Gold content | Usually stamped |
|---|---|---|---|
| 24K | 24 / 24 | 99.9% | 999 |
| 21K | 21 / 24 | 87.5% | 875 |
| 18K | 18 / 24 | 75.0% | 750 |
| 14K | 14 / 24 | 58.5% | 585 |
Purity and hardness pull in opposite directions
Pure gold is soft. A 24K ring worn every day will pick up dents and scratches quickly, and a thin 24K claw holding a stone can bend enough to lose it. Adding other metals makes the alloy harder and more scratch-resistant — which is why the karat you want depends on what the piece has to survive, not on which number is highest.
- 24K — the choice when the metal itself is the point. Coins, bars, and pieces bought to hold value. It is the softest and the most yellow.
- 21K — the standard for gold jewellery across much of the region, and the most common karat we sell. It keeps a deep yellow colour and is hard enough for bracelets, chains and everyday rings.
- 18K — noticeably harder, slightly paler. The usual choice for stone-set pieces, because the settings hold better.
- 14K — the hardest of the four and the palest. It stands up best to daily knocks, and it is the least expensive per gram because it contains the least gold.
Colour comes from the alloy, not the karat
Yellow, white and rose gold at the same karat contain the same amount of gold. What differs is what it is mixed with: more copper reads rose, and nickel or palladium with a rhodium finish reads white. So an 18K rose ring and an 18K yellow ring are worth the same by weight, even though they look nothing alike.
White gold is usually finished with a thin rhodium plating. That plating wears with time and can be reapplied — it is a normal part of owning a white gold piece, not a fault.
Which to buy
If you are buying to keep value, karat matters more than design: higher karat means more gold per gram. If you are buying something to wear every day, 21K or 18K will look better for longer than 24K. If the piece is heavily set with stones, 18K or 14K will hold them more securely.
Every piece we sell is stamped with its karat, weighed in front of you, and priced from that day's rate for that karat. See how gold jewellery is priced for how the number on the tag is worked out, or today's rate per karat.