How do you tell the difference between real and fake gold rings?

Gold jewelry is one of the most expensive types of jewelries. As a result, it is often counterfeited to sell at a high price with minimal production cost. Differentiating between real and fake gold can be challenging for non-experts, and counterfeiters take advantage of this. So here are some methods you can use to test the authenticity of your gold jewelry at home.

Discoloration

The easiest way to tell if your gold jewelry is fake is if it leaves a mark after wearing it. Pure gold never leaves a mark on your skin so if you see green marks on your finger after wearing your ring, it probably contains metals other than gold. Bear in mind that no 14K gold ring is 100% pure gold; because gold is a soft metal, it’s often mixed with other metals to make it harder. So it’s possible that even a real gold ring will leave a mark depending on the person.

Discoloration may also happen on the ring itself. If your ring has discoloration inside it after wearing it for a while, it means the ring is plated and the base metal is coming to surface.

Look for Stamps

Real gold rings have stamps inside to indicate its purity, ie its karat weight. Reputable sellers stamp their rings so you should see 10K, 14K, 18K, or 24K stamped inside your ring. At Bayam Jewelry, we always stamp our rings so we guarantee you are getting what you are paying for.

Magnet Test

Gold isn’t magnetic whereas fake gold reacts to magnet. You can use a strong metal (not fridge magnets) to test if your ring sticks to the magnet. Bear in mind that some counterfeit gold rings may be made with non-magnetic metals, meaning they will also not stick to the magnet, so this test isn’t guaranteed to work.

Float Test

Fill a cup of water and drop your gold ring into it. Real gold is a dense metal so it sinks in water whereas imitation gold floats due to its light weight. However, this test also isn’t foolproof as some counterfeit gold rings may be made with dense metals similar to real gold, so they may also sink.

Lighter Test

We know it sounds scary to burn your ring with a lighter but, don’t worry, real gold doesn’t burn. Use a butane lighter and burn your ring for around 60 seconds, but make sure to use something not flammable to hold it as it will get extremely hot. If your ring is real gold, it will get brighter whereas fake gold will get darker as the gold coating will melt and the base metal will be visible.

Vinegar Test

Real gold doesn’t react to vinegar so it’s an easy way to test if your gold ring is real or not. Fill a cup with white vinegar and drop your ring into it. Let it soak for about 10 minutes, then take it out and rinse with water. If your ring changes color, then it’s not real gold. You can also simply place your ring on a surface and drop a few drops of vinegar on it. The important thing is that the ring comes in contact with vinegar. But be careful if your ring has semi-precious stones on it as vinegar might damage the stones.

Conclusion

No one test is foolproof so you should do a few tests to be sure. Either way, some counterfeit gold rings are made in a way that reacts the same way as gold to these tests, so it’s likely that these test won’t determine the authenticity of your ring. To be absolutely sure, you should take your ring to a jeweler who can easily tell you whether it’s real gold or not.

The easiest and safest way to ensure your gold jewelry is real is to buy it from a reputable source. At Bayam Jewelry, all our jewelry is made with real 10K and 14K gold, so you never have to worry about the authenticity of your ring. Take a look at our Gold Ring Collection to find a real gold ring to showcase your real self.