As a professional gold buyer, I had to know all about jewelry markings in order to buy and resell scrap gold jewelry for profit.
Markings like 750, 585, and 417 often cause confusion among consumers. Most folks don't know what these mysterious combinations of numbers mean. It can be even more confusing if there are letters involved as well.
Caratage and Fineness: Understanding Gold Purity
Since pure gold is too soft to use for jewelry making, it is combined with other metals to make it stronger. Caratage and fineness both refers to the purity of gold in a gold alloy. Caratage signifies the number of karats in it, whereas fineness refers to parts per thousand of gold in an alloy.