Engagement Ring Subject Index

1. White Gold vs. Yellow Gold
2. White Gold vs. Platinum
3. Gold Karat Ratings
4. Maintaining Your Engagement Ring
5. Professional Jewelry Maintenance
6. Keeping Diamonds Secure In A Ring Setting
7. Custom-Produced vs. Stock Diamond Settings
8. Tension Set Engagement Ring Styles
9. Fancy Cut (Non-Round) Diamond Shapes
10. Bridal Set Ring Styles And Jewelry Options
11. Choosing A Ring For An Heirloom Diamond
12. The 4 C's: Cut, Color, Clarity, Carat Weight

Carat or Karat?

• Carat (with a "c") refers to the weight of a diamond or gemstone. (5 carats = 1 gram)
• Karat (with a "k") refers to the purity of gold.

Understanding Karat Ratings

• 24K gold is 100% pure gold.
• 18K gold is 18 parts gold, 6 parts metal alloy. (18K = 75% pure gold.)
  • The particular metals used in the alloy are chosen to produce the desired gold color (yellow, white, rose, green, etc.)

Gold is mixed with other metals for two reasons:

1. It helps control the cost of the jewelry.
2. It makes the jewelry more durable, since pure gold is extremely soft. However, gold mixed with other metals is less malleable, and many designers prefer to work with 18K gold rather than 14K because it's easier to shape.

Purer gold has a naturally richer, yellow color than less pure gold, while less pure gold has a paler appearance. (White gold is plated with rhodium, so the purity does not have as significant an effect on appearance.)