How To Test Gold

Want to learn how to test gold? It is very easy to do. You just need the proper equipment and a little knowledge. Stop paying someone else to test your gold for you. Read this article and learn how easy it is for you to start testing gold today.  

Supplies you will need:

•  Gold testing brick
•  Metal file    
•  Gold testing solution
•  Disposable cloth

1. Testing gold by brick. Place the gold testing brick you bought on a table. Now get the piece of gold jewelry and rub it hard against the gold testing brick. You should now see gold residue markings on the brick. Take a bottle of the 14 kt solution and squeeze a little of it over the gold scratch markings on the brick. If you can still see the markings through the clear 14 kt  acid, the gold jewelry is real. If you cannot see it because it has disappeared, then the jewelry is fake. Note: If you place 14 kt solution on 10 kt gold that is scratched on a gold testing brick, it will turn dark brown, but won't disappear. If you place 14 kt on 14 kt, it will not change the look of the gold scratch on the gold testing brick. It will stay the same: very clear.
2. Use a file to test bigger gold pieces. Take large gold jewelry and find an area on it that you can file that is hidden from normal view. File that area with a small incision. Next, take 14 kt solution and put a little into that incision. If the gold bubbles up and starts to change colors, it is fake.

Reference:

Newton Department Website