All about 985 gold: what kind of alloy is it and how much does one gram cost today?

Post updated: May 27, 2020

What are gold samples used for and what do they mean? Is pure gold found in jewelry production and why is it necessary to add various metals to it? What metals are most often added to gold alloy and why? What does the 985th rare gold standard mean?

Pure gold, or pure gold, is an extremely soft yellow metal. This material is very common in industry due to its physical properties: corrosion resistance, resistance to chemicals, high conductivity. The precious metal has also been used in medicine. Not only are prosthetics made from it, gold is used for delicate work that requires a durable and malleable metal that will not cause an allergic reaction in patients.

In jewelry, red gold does not justify its value - jewelry quickly loses its appearance due to the low strength of the metal. Gold does not allow you to make sophisticated designer jewelry with many small decorative details; such a product will be very fragile and short-lived.

It would be a pity if, decades later, jewelry made of pure gold can only be seen in photographs. In ancient times, it was invented to add various alloys to gold - other metals that transfer part of their properties to the beautiful metal, making it stronger and more resistant to environmental influences, changing the external characteristics of the alloy. This is how white, yellow, red, green and even black gold appeared.

Depending on the composition of the ligature, gold can be of different shades.

Each gold alloy color corresponds to the metal being added:

• White – platinum, nickel or palladium;
• Yellow – copper and silver;
• Red – copper;
• Green – silver;
• Black - rhodium.

What does 985 sample represent?

Gold is a soft metal that easily scratches and dents. In jewelry, to give it strength, impurities of other metals, called alloys, are added.

Currently, metric and carat assay systems are widely used. In Russia, the metric system is adopted, according to which the weight of the alloy is divided into 100 parts. Fineness is the percentage of precious metal content in an alloy. This is how low-grade, medium and high-grade compounds are distinguished.

Composition and properties

The share of precious metal in 985 standard is 98.5%, the rest is copper and silver. This alloy is a high-grade alloy and has the properties of pure gold: rich bright yellow color and softness.

Strength

A high percentage of gold content in this composition indicates the fragility of jewelry made from it. This is explained by the softness of the metal and its tendency to deform.

Alloy shade chart

The alloys have different shades of yellow. This depends on the metals added to the composition. For example, a predominance of copper gives a red tint, an equal amount of copper and silver gives a pink tint, and palladium gives a white tint. There are even alloys with an unusual green hue, which is obtained when there is only silver in the alloy.

The table describes the shades of gold of the highest standard.

Brand

All jewelry manufactured in accordance with GOST is stamped. Its form is determined at the legislative level. Russian jewelry factories put a stamp on their products with the image of a woman in a kokoshnik, followed by a 3-digit set of numbers indicating the sample. The photo below clearly shows examples of the 985 stamp. Let me remind you that they don’t play it in Russia.

How many carats are in 985?

I mentioned above that it is customary to use the metric and carat systems to determine the quality of a gold alloy. Western standards require the use of the karate system. This sample contains 24 parts, of which the highest are 23 and 24 carats. 985 standard corresponds to 23 carats. This composition is pure metal.

Correspondence table of samples and carats.

Characteristics of high-grade alloys

Of course, you can say that you can make any sample, and then, with the help of a private jeweler, make any product from it. This is partly true, but such jewelry cannot be approved by the state assay supervision. And if it is still possible to do this, then the maximum sample it will receive is 958, corresponding to Russian standards.

If such an alloy existed, it would correspond to all the properties that are characteristic of high-grade and pure gold. Metals of this purity have a bright yellow color, which matches the color of the metal in its pure form. It is characterized by the formation of scratches, deformation from slight impact and the natural softness of the metal.

It is believed that purchasing jewelry made from a high-grade alloy is very prestigious and a good investment. Usually such products can be bought in Eastern countries.

Jewelry made from this alloy is very beautiful because it can be processed very well. But the filigree work will make wearing it impossible. Of course, they still have some unusualness and can also be called prestigious. But are they a good investment?

• Option 1. You go abroad and buy jewelry of the highest standard there. It will not bear a state stamp and if you want to sell it in Russia there will be problems.
• Option 2. You are purchasing a high-quality product that came to Russia through official means. It will bear the most suitable stamp of 958, which is already much lower. Further, products made from such alloys are usually very massive, most often wedding rings. In order for an object to be an investment, it must have high liquidity, that is, the ability to quickly sell it. When you go to a pawnshop, they won’t rate you too highly. Firstly, the standard on it is much lower, and secondly, some products are not valued at the highest prices, in particular, wedding rings, since it will be difficult to sell them later.

Thus, high-grade gold can hardly be called a good investment. Especially if the product is purchased not to be stored in a separate box, but to be worn. Traces of use on it will be too noticeable.

Areas of application of the alloy

The peculiarities of this alloy make it rare to make jewelry from it, because... they have all the disadvantages of natural gold. Most often, wedding rings are made from 985 standard. These products are massive, which improves their performance. High-grade gold is applied in a thin layer to products made of other metals, making them gilded.

One of the areas of application of 985 gold is the production of bank bars and investment coins. In the chemical and electronics industries, this alloy is used to coat parts of computers, mobile phones, and other devices. Dentures and crowns are made from it.

Category: question-answer

Is there 985 silver?

Expert opinion

Grishanov Mikhail Petrovich

Jeweler, director of the Grishanov and Co. workshop

Officially, there is no 985 silver standard in Russia; the price per gram of such a product is not regulated anywhere. A high-quality silver jewelry hallmark is considered to be 925. The minimum hallmark for jewelry is 800; all others are considered technical silver.

Why is there no jewelry made of pure gold?

Expert opinion

Pribrezhny Gennady Valentinovich

Jeweler 6th category

Such products do not justify their cost due to their strong softness; they can literally be cut with a knife. Pure gold can be used to make decorative elements for jewelry. Jewelers often use 985 gold when making custom jewelry.

Is 985 silver good or not?

Expert opinion

Grishanov Mikhail Petrovich

Jeweler, director of the Grishanov and Co. workshop

Since 985 silver is not officially used anywhere, it is impossible to reliably assess its properties.

Price of 1 gram of gold of the highest standard in rubles

Below is an online schedule and table with prices.

What does the price consist of?

The price of 1 g of precious metal is calculated as follows: the current exchange rate is multiplied by the coefficient corresponding to the fineness - 0.985. The rate is set daily by the Central Bank of Russia.

In addition to official structures, jewelry manufacturers and sellers and pawn shops influence the price of the alloy.

Which gold standard is better, 585 or 750

750 standard can rightfully be called the elite of the jewelry world. She is preferred in her work by leading designers and famous brands. Most products are set with precious stones. Accordingly, their cost is sky-high and is inaccessible to a wide range of consumers.

As already mentioned, the price difference between 375 and 585 is not that significant. But the price of 750 and 585 differs more noticeably. This is one of the reasons for the low popularity of such jewelry in our country. Most people do not understand why overpay for products that are practically the same in their characteristics.

In addition, the classic color for 750 is yellow. Our fellow citizens have a more familiar color, which is called “Russian red” all over the world.

Products made of noble white gold occupy a special place; they are becoming increasingly popular. The use of palladium or platinum as an impurity makes such an alloy much more expensive.

958 standard is the highest, and is extremely rarely used in jewelry production. This is practically pure metal, with no more than 4% impurities. Jewelry with the 958 stamp is very soft, easily deformed, rubbed quickly, and loses its shine. In addition, there are many technological difficulties in manufacturing. Most of the products are wedding rings of simple shape. An obstacle to widespread use is the high cost.

999,9 – banking metal, currency, a good tool for saving money. Not used for making jewelry. Unless the “new Russians” in the 90s asked to drill a hole in an ingot and wore it as a pendant on their chest or a ring on their finger.

Based on the above, several conclusions can be drawn:

• The most affordable sample is 375;
• The best sample in terms of price-quality ratio is 585;
• Elite of the jewelry world – 750 standard;
• 999.9 gold – bank bars, an investment tool.

Recommendations for care and cleaning

Products made from high-grade 985 gold require special care. Such jewelry is not intended for everyday wear, because... with prolonged contact with oily skin, they can fade, and cosmetics and perfumes cause oxidation of the metal. Before any water procedures, remove your jewelry so as not to spoil their appearance.

Expert opinion

Vsevolod Kozlovsky

6 years in jewelry making. Knows everything about samples and can identify a fake in 12 seconds

It is better to clean expensive jewelry in a jewelry workshop. At home, you can prepare an aqueous solution of sugar and leave the item in it for several hours. Do not use any cleaning products. Such experiments may end up ruining the appearance of the jewelry.

Do not wear the product in hot weather or at sub-zero temperatures - this may cause the product to change shape and even crack.

Which is better for wedding rings

In Russia, wedding rings are made from 375, 585 and 750 varieties. In rare cases, this jewelry has a 958 hallmark - such jewelry is made to order, but is not practical, so it is not popular.

375 rings are the cheapest. They have sufficient strength and are less prone to bending and scratching. To maintain shine and color, jewelry requires regular treatment.

Rings of 585 and 750 varieties are popular in Russia. They have sufficient strength and do not darken for a long time. The shade of the product can be not only yellow, but also another, characteristic of gold alloys.

Can gold darken?

Precious metal darkens due to poor-quality composition of impurities. This leads to its oxidation and, as a result, darkening of the jewelry. Therefore, when choosing jewelry, check the information about the manufacturer. If you purchased your .985 jewelry from a certified supplier, there is nothing to fear.

The next reason for the appearance of blackness is a film of sweat and fat that forms on the metal. The alloy may darken when exposed to cosmetics and cleaning products. The substances contained in them oxidize the metal.

I urge you to treat expensive jewelry with care and follow the rules for caring for them.

Why do gold items turn my fingers black?

Sometimes when wearing gold rings, blackness appears not on the item, but on the finger. There are claims on the Internet that this is a sign of disease. None of them have scientific basis. The skin under the ring turns black due to the interaction of the metal with the cream applied to the hands before putting the ring on, or due to a poor-quality alloy.

Causes of gold streaks

Dark streaks from gold jewelry appear as a result of a chemical reaction between gold and cosmetics containing mercury - foundation, powder or blush.

The skin of people with allergies is prone to spots and streaks where it comes into contact with metal. This is a reaction to impurities included in the composition. High-grade alloys do not leave traces due to their low additive content.

Next, watch an interesting video about how you can determine the gold purity yourself:

Which gold standard is better, 375 or 585

In terms of its composition, 375 sample is an alloy of the lowest quality. It has a number of significant disadvantages. Due to the large number of impurities, it fades quite quickly, losing its original shine and beauty. In the USSR, there was a color standard for 375 standard - dark pink, jewelry could be easily distinguished by this feature.

The modern jewelry industry produces products 375, which are visually no different from the more expensive ones - with the mark 585. By adding special elements, it was possible to significantly increase the resistance of such gold to oxidation. Now it retains its beauty and shine much longer.

An interesting point is the price of 375 standard. The difference in pure gold content is almost 70%, it would be logical to assume that the difference in cost per gram would be the same. In fact, a very large part of the price is the cost of work, production costs, and trade markup. So it turns out that the price of products 375 and 585 for buyers does not differ as radically as one would expect.

These nuances appear when you have a desire to change jewelry from 375 to 585, the amount of additional payment may unpleasantly surprise you. When you take it to a pawnshop, you also don’t have to expect to receive a lot of money.

Based on the above, it becomes clear why the 375 brand is not particularly popular; it is considered a budget segment of the market.

Also, the 500 standard has not found distribution; it is very rare to find products with such a stamp.

585 is truly the “golden” ratio for the jewelry industry. It has a long tradition of use for the manufacture of a wide variety of rings, chains, earrings, pendants of any complexity. It practically does not darken under the influence of the environment, and retains its shine and beauty for a long time. It can be confidently called the best in terms of price-quality ratio. Back in the days of Tsarist Russia, there was a sample of 56 spools (58.3% purity).

Tips for choosing gold jewelry

A few tips that will come in handy when choosing jewelry:

• presence of a mark;
• jewelry less than 375 standard - costume jewelry;
• The tag indicates basic information about the product.

An important factor is the store where you purchase jewelry. He must have the appropriate license and certificates for the goods offered.

The relevance of these tips is explained by the fact that there are many scammers in the gold market, so be careful and careful when buying jewelry.

How not to run into a fake

When you want to purchase a special piece of jewelry with a high content of pure gold, you need to remember that regular jewelry stores do not sell them. That is, there is no way to guarantee the authenticity of the purchase.

You can find the desired product in a thrift store or pawnshop, but the mark on it will differ from modern marking symbols. The name tag will contain the number 23 and the letter symbol of the country of origin. This is due to the fact that these goods were brought from other countries where the 985 precious metal is used officially. The color of the products remains unnaturally yellow.

Depending on the composition of the ligature, a faint white, green, red or pink tint may be present.

Fake branded gold bars
When choosing rare jewelry, it is important to consider:

• the product must contain a mark with a carat designation;
• such items can be high-quality imitation;
• gold is always accompanied by certificates containing information about the product, country of origin, etc.

You can also always get advice from a specialist to find out which simple method is best to use to recognize a fake.

Men's wedding ring: historical facts and reality

If in the jewelry box of any girl or woman you can find many rings of different designs, made of gold, silver and platinum, then most men prefer to wear only a wedding ring . Therefore, the choice of jewelry is approached with the utmost scrupulousness. The ring should be stylish, suitable for everyday wear and going out, and consistent with the image of a young man.

Few people know, but men's rings appeared much earlier than women's. Archaeological excavations have uncovered rings dating back thousands of years . These were items made of stone and bone that ancient hunters wore to attract good luck. The first gold men's jewelry appeared in Ancient Egypt. They were made of gold, decorated with various stones and cuttings. Only persons of the highest rank were allowed to wear such rings. Commoners were content with copper rings.

Time has passed, but men’s craving for beauty remains

A man's wedding ring can be an exact copy of the women's version or be an exclusive piece of jewelry, only resembling the pair's version in some nuances. Literally ten to twenty years ago there were no plans for any kind of luxury for a men’s jewelry accessory. Men wore traditional smooth wedding rings in the standard yellow color. Interspersed with stones, engraving and other design elements were not in fashion or simply inaccessible to a person with an average level of income.

Today there are no standards or restrictions in choosing men's jewelry for a wedding. The list of such models includes rings made of white, red, yellow and rose gold, with engraving and inlay, colored enamel and openwork. And this is just the beginning of an endless list of options for designing and making stylish men's wedding rings.

Gold ring made of white gold, Pushkin Jewelry Factory (price on the link)

Samples officially accepted in Russia

Currently, only the metric system of measurements is officially in force in Russia. Officially recognized by the Assay Office in the jewelry industry:

• 375;
• 500;
• 585;
• 750;
• 900;
• 958;
• 999.