How can you test for gold being authentic?

Question

i know you can do it with nitric acid but i dont have that. what are other ways?

it is also a necklace so I can't let it get hot... i also don't know of anything I would have around the house that is an acid.

Answer 1

it gets soft under slow heat and melts on burning heat but it will be back being solid form after it is cold..

Answer 2

The lack of a hallmark (10k, 14k, 18k etc.) is not indicative of whether your piece is gold or not. In the United States it is against the FTC's regulations for the jeweler to hallmark a piece of jewelry unless it is accompanied by a maker's mark. So, when I first began making jewelry and did not have a trademark of my own, I did not hallmark my jewelry. Now that I have a maker's mark, I hallmark my jewelry with the appropriate metal hallmark and my maker's mark.

A jeweler cannot just look at a piece and tell you for certain whether it is gold or not; the jeweler will do a test to determine it.

To be scientfically accurate a sample of the metal in question must be assayed in a testing laboratory, but the following two tests have been used for many years and often are sufficiently accurate for a craftsperson or the owner of the metal in question.

To answer "Is It Gold?":

With a small file, make a scratch in an inconspicuous spot. While wearing rubber gloves, use a wooden, glass or plastic stick to apply a drop of nitric acid to the filed spot. Observe the reaction. When done, rinse everything well in running water.

If there is no reaction, it's gold.
If there's a bright green reaction, it's base metal.
If there's green in the scratch, it's a gold layer over base metal (goldplate).
If there's a milky reaction in the scratch, it's a gold layer over silver.

To answer "What Karat Is It?"

Determining karat requires a testing kit containing nitric acid, aqua regia, samples of known karat, and a touchstone of slate or ceramic.

The gold object to be tested is rubbed on the stone ("touched") to leave a streak. A parallel line is made with one of the test pieces of known karat. Both marks are flooded with acid and the reaction are observed. When the sample colors at the same rate as the test streak, a match has been made. Nitric acid is used for low karat golds; aqua regia is needed for higher karats.

Please note: these tests are for your information only. They are not accurate enough to rely upon when representing a piece for sale. Most jewelers have testing kits to use when determining if something is gold or not and its approximate karat. It is probably easiest to take the item to a jeweler than to set up the testing kits yourself.

Answer 3

Vinegar is an acid you are very likely to have at home. Lemon juice is another. I'm not confident though that either of these will tell you a whole lot.

Answer 4

Check: www.howstuffworks.com and www.wikipedia.com Gold is a heavy metal. If you use an acid it shouldn't discolor unless adulterated or alloyed. There's also a white gold, but it's the same thing.

Answer 5

muratic acid is found in the pool supply section at any walmart. also sulfuric acid is found in liquid plumber at any home depot, also there is always battery acid (but i dont recomend this one). last but not least off the top of my head is uric acid...urine is also a sterile fluid b/c of its acidity however not a popular fluid to test with.

Answer 6

I think it makes a distinctive sound when you drop it, but that's all I know. I was watching The Pianist the other day, an a guy does that in a restaurant

Answer 7

one way to know it is NOT gold is if it is attracted to a magnet, so if it is not it is more than likely authentic gold...other than that I do not know

Answer 8

you can bite it....gold is really soft! Also gold doesn't react to any other chemical so if it tarnishes it's not gold.

Answer 9

take it to a pawn shop