The beauty of gold chains is that they don’t just make great accessories but are also great investments. Aside from being highly valuable, gold’s value doesn’t depreciate over time, nor is it affected by inflation. It’s one of the best ways of saving up wealth for the next generation.
Unfortunately, many fake gold chains are being passed off as real ones, so you have to be very careful to know the difference.
One indicator of the authenticity of a gold chain can be how magnetic it is. Ideally, gold as a metal, should not have any magnetic property.
So, does that automatically mean that the chain is fake if it happens to be slightly magnetic? In this post, we explore whether or not a gold chain being slightly magnetic is an indicator of it being fake.
Why Is My Gold Chain Slightly Magnetic?
The presence of magnetic properties is a popular way of determining the authenticity of a gold chain.
There are, however, two main reasons as to why a gold chain may be slightly magnetic, and it may not necessarily mean that the chain is fake. The following are those two reasons:
The Gold Alloy Used May Contain Magnetic Metals
Ideally, pure gold metal does not have magnetic properties, as such, it should not be attracted to a magnet.
We should, however, keep in mind that gold used to make gold chains is not 100% pure gold. Given that pure gold is soft, it is mixed with other metal alloys to increase its hardness and durability.
We therefore should consider the possibility that the non-gold metal alloys used could contain some magnetic properties. A good example is a nickel.
This is especially likely, depending on the percentage of gold content in the gold alloy. That means that low karat gold has higher chances of being magnetic compared to higher karat gold.
For example, 10K gold has only 41.7% gold content and 58.3% of other metal alloys, hence increasing the chances of it having magnetic properties.
18K gold on the other hand is made up of more gold content (75%) than other metals (25%), hence reducing the possibility of it having magnetic properties.
It therefore could be possible that the chain may be made of solid gold and still be slightly magnetic. But that is based on the karat of the gold use and the other metals used in the gold alloy.
The Gold Chain May Not Be Authentic
Another obvious reason why your gold chain may be slightly magnetic is that it’s a fake. As we mentioned before, gold is highly valuable therefore it can be costly to acquire it.
As such, some of the gold chains being sold happen to be fake. That’s because some jewelers want to make a profit while cutting down on costs.
So, what are fake gold chains made of? A fake gold chain has not been made with solid gold.
Most fake gold chains are plated, meaning the chain is made of non-gold base metal and then covered with a thin layer of gold. Although plated gold chains may appear authentic at first, the gold layer eventually fades off within a short time.
Fake gold chains can also be gold-filled. This process involves wrapping the chain made of non-gold base metal with a thin sheet of gold under high temperatures. This gold may last longer, but eventually also begins to fade.
The base metals used in these gold chains are commonly iron, cobalt, and stainless steel among others like brass.
They are cheaper and more affordable, which is why they are commonly used. Aside from brass, the rest of the three have magnetic properties.
So, if your chain happens to be magnetic, the possibility is that it may have been made using one of those metals as the base metal.
Conclusion
While the magnetic test is a popular way of testing the authenticity of a gold chain, it is not the surest method.
As we’ve discussed, it could be that some of the metals used in the gold alloy maybe contain some magnetic properties. It’s also possible that the chain is fake and made of base metals with magnetic properties.
Still, keep in mind that gold is not the only non-magnetic metal. The chain could be fake and still pass the magnetic test if its base metal is also non-magnetic.
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Tiger is a fashion&jewelry lover. He is also a fashion jewelry manufacturer that help thousands of small business to grow and also do business with some big fashion jewelry brands. He is a truly metal expert and he will share some information you are looking for.