how can i tell if my gold pendant is real. i dont want o burn it or harm it.?

Question

it has a smell to it. does that mean it fake.

Answer 1

Take it to a jeweler.

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

Take it to a professional jeweler next time you go to the mall.

Answer 4

1

Answer 5

ask a jeweler in the mall next time you are there and they'll be able to tell you for sure and for free, usually, as a favor.

Answer 6

should be stamped 14k or if its plated it will have a P for plated or if its not gold it won't have anything on it.or take it to a jeweler they'll tell you

Answer 7

no, the smell does not mean it is fake--metal that is dirty (like a necklace that is close to your skin alot) will sometimes have a faint metallic smell to it.

Answer 8

try sticking a magnet to it 99% of the time gold will not stick to the magnet.

Answer 9

If you bought it. How much did you pay for it? If it seemed dirt cheap, well probaly fake.

Answer 10

Take it to a jeweler or look to see if it says 10 kt....or 15kt...or someother number and then kt....kt. stands for carat....like a carat of gold........