Gold and silver purity tables
Short answer: Gold karat is parts per 24, so 18K is 75% gold, stamped 750, and 14K is 58.5%, stamped 585. Sterling silver is 92.5% silver, stamped 925, and fine silver is 99.9%, stamped 999.
Gold
| Karat | Pure metal | Stamp |
|---|---|---|
| 24K | 99.9% or more | 999 or 999.9 |
| 22K | 91.6% | 916 |
| 21K | 87.5% | 875 |
| 18K | 75.0% | 750 |
| 14K | 58.5% | 585 |
| 10K | 41.7% | 417 |
| 9K | 37.5% | 375 |
Silver
| Standard | Pure metal | Stamp |
|---|---|---|
| Fine silver | 99.9% | 999 |
| Britannia silver | 95.8% | 958 |
| Sterling silver | 92.5% | 925 |
| US coin silver (pre-1965) | 90.0% | 900 |
| Lower-grade silver | 80.0% | 800 |
How to use it
- Find the stamp on your item: a karat such as 18K, or a fineness number such as 750 or 925.
- Read across to the percent of pure metal.
- Multiply the item's weight by that percent to get the weight of pure metal, then use the melt value calculators for the value.
Formula: gold content = karat ÷ 24, and silver content = fineness ÷ 1000
Questions
Why is 24K gold stamped 999 instead of 1000?+
No refined gold is perfectly pure, so pure gold is described as 999 or 999.9 fine. 24K is the name for gold at that level.
Is sterling silver pure silver?+
No. Sterling is an alloy of 92.5% silver with other metals, usually copper, for strength.
What does 925 on jewelry mean?+
It means 925 parts in 1,000 are silver, which is sterling silver.
Are the percentages exact?+
The stamps use conventional rounded numbers. For example, 22K is 91.67% by the formula and is stamped 916, so allow for small differences.
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