Gold Jewelry
Gold Earings
Because of the softness of pure (24k) gold, it is usually alloyed with
base metals for use in jewelry, altering its hardness and ductility,
melting point, color and other properties. Alloys with lower karat
rating, typically 22k, 18k, 14k or 10k, contain higher percentages of
copper or other base metals or silver or palladium in the alloy.
Learn more about the history of Gold on Wikipedia!