Gold - what is the difference between ct and k?

1. 0

   shazwellynposted 12 years ago

   Gold - what is the difference between ct and k?
   
   Why is it that some gold is described as 9ct or 9k, for example.  Is there a difference between these descriptions?

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2. 75

   hassamposted 12 years ago

   'Carat' is a unit for the measurement of masses of gemstone. 1 carat =200 milligrams. On the other hand 'Karat' is unit for defining the purity of gold. Gold in pure for is extremely soft, therefore it is alloyed with some other metals like; copper, silver etc to give it hardness. The ratio of pure gold to the total mass of the alloy is can be noted by the 'Karat' stamp on the item. So pure gold is 24k and by that ratio, 9k gold has (9/24*100)37.5% pure gold.
   
   However I have seen and worked with embossing stamps that sometimes have the the label 'ct' in it instead of 'k'. But that doesn't make a difference as if you are referring to just gold's purity 9k and 9ct gold are the same.

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3. 0

   iCrystalWriterposted 10 years ago

   As hassam noted, ct is a unit for quantifying/measuring the weight of gemstones while Karat is a measure of the ratio of gold in a piece, with pure gold being 24K, that is, 24 karats.
   
   However in some countries or settings, ct and karat may be used interchangeably to indicate the ratio of the gold in a piece too. So when in such countries/settings for instance they say, “9ct of gold ring”, they actually mean “9K of gold ring”.

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