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Gold Body Jewelry - Is It Really Gold?
Gold body jewelry and gold belly button rings are increasingly popular women's jewelry accessories. Gold body jewelry in particular is highly desirable, symbolizing abundance and prosperity. Before you purchase gold body jewerly or gold belly button rings, make sure you know how to choose and what to look for.
Gold body jewelry and gold belly button rings are increasingly popular women’s jewelry accessories. Gold body jewelry in particular is highly desirable, symbolizing abundance and prosperity. Before you purchase gold body jewerly or gold belly button rings, make sure you know how to choose and what to look for.
The most important factor in choosing any gold body jewelry is knowing if your jewelry is really gold. There are a few key elements to watch for which will pay off for you in the long run.
With body jewelry, you should look for 18 karat gold. The reason 18 karat is recommended for new piercings is there’s a higher chance the jewelry will be accepted by the body. When body jewelry isn’t true gold or the karat level advertised, allergies may result and you’ll need to remove the body jewelry.
Body jewelry allergies usually occur because the gold body jewelry contains significant other metal content. Inexpensive body jewelry is usually just gold plated. If the body jewelry is simply gold plated, it should never be used in piercings.
Gold plated body jewelry exposes you to a high risk for allergic reaction, because the gold plating will wear away. Most gold plated body jewelry contains nickel, a common element for body jewelry. Most white gold belly button rings contain nickel, and it’s important to find out how much. Very inexpensive body jewelry almost always contains a high percentage of nickel.
It’s important to check what other metals are present in your gold body jewelry. The lower the karat level in your body jewelry, the higher the content of metals like copper, zinc, and nickel. In fact, other metals are almost always used to formulate body jewelry because gold itself is so soft and needs other metals to form jewelry.
The very best choice for gold body jewelry is 18 karat gold. Primarily, body jewelry is available in 14 karat. 14K gold is less expensive but the downside is you’ll have a higher chance for body jewelry allergic reaction.
The most important factors to consider when buying gold body jewelry:
1. Only buy from stores that test their body jewelry for gold purity content.
2. Avoid trademark or logo body jewelry if there isn’t a license stamped on the back. Any trademark must also display licensing directly on the body jewelry.
3. Test your body jewelry at an independent lab if you have any questions about the gold content. Typically these tests are about $20.
4. Closely examine the body jewelry’s quality. Look at your body jewelry with a jeweler’s scope. If edges are frayed or there are imperfections, there are quality and manufacturing issues.
One last item ... remember that 24 karat gold is the only pure gold. 18k, 14k, and 10k all have gold and other metals present. For reference, 18k gold is 75% pure gold, high quality, affordable, and your best choice to reduce the risk of any problems.