Gold Karats
It is gold's malleability that makes it such an optimal choice for jewelry design. However, pure gold is extremely pliable, and wearing it too often will cause it to change shape. To increase the strength of gold, it is often combined with other metals to create an alloy. For this reason, the karat system was developed, indicating the ratio of how much pure gold is present in the alloy. See below for the different karats available around the world.
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Karats
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Gold %
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More information
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24
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99.9%
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This is the karat for pure gold, which is popular in China
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22
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91.6%
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Popular in India
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21
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87.5%
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Popular in Middle East
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19.2
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80%
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Standard in Portugal
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18
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75%
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Standard International karatage
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14
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58.5%
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Often used in USA
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While 24 karat gold jewelry does exist, it is not practical for everyday wear. In China, it is often used in wedding ceremonies. 18 karat is the international standard and is the karatage used to create Mannin Fine Jewelry. It is at this karat level that the changes in alloy reflect a difference in color (yellow, rose, white gold). Mannin has carefully selected alloy combinations to create custom Mannin colors.
While karats under 18 do exist (14 is another common karatage in the United States), they are not as high quality. Usually, gold jewelry is stamped with a number indicating a karat level. All Mannin jewelry is stamped with an M and 750 (for the 75% gold that is used in 18 karat jewelry), as seen below.
