There are some instances where the hallmark comes in the form of a fraction to show the exact percentage of its purity. When looking into gold jewelry you need to look if there are the letters GP or EP anywhere on the piece of jewelry. GP stands for gold that is not pure gold but gold-plated. This is important because a piece of jewelry that you think is inexpensive can carry this insignia and it basically means that there is not much actual gold on the piece. EP means that the gold is electro-plated.

If you run into someone selling gold where there is no marking on the gold at all assume the worst that it is goldtone which is not gold in any way but a metal which is golden in color. If the price of a gold piece of jewelry is too good to be true it probably is. There are many types of gold available at different prices just be aware of the different worth of each type of gold and then see if it is a good deal or not.

You can not judge gold by its color. Even though with gold with a higher level of purity it will be brighter in color than a lower level purity gold. If you are looking into buying gold jewelry which is older if it is solid gold it should still not tarnish. If the piece is made from goldtone or is gold plated than it generally will show some sign of tarnishing.

These are some little things to know about gold, but considering gold and gold jewelry can be expensive it can be wise to have a professional jeweler or metals expert look at a piece you will be buying to see if it is the read deal or just fool’s gold.