10K Gold: Price, Purity, Advantages & Disadvantages
PRICE OF 10K GOLD
Because 10 karat gold only contains 41.7% pure gold, it’s one of the most affordable types of gold that’s available for sale. Generally, you’ll pay less for a 10K gold ring than you would for the equivalent ring in 14K or 18K gold.
While this might make it seem like 10K gold offers the best value for money, this isn’t always the case for several reasons.
First, 10K gold typically isn’t used for high quality engagement rings and other fine jewelry. This means that the number of vendors from whom you can purchase a 10K gold ring is quite small, and might not contain the best vendors on the market.
Second, there’s the quality issue. Because 10K gold is very cheap, it’s often used for pre-made rings that contain diamonds and other gemstones of questionable quality.
Third, there’s the actual value for money offered. While 10K gold is cheaper than 14K gold, it’s not that much cheaper. Most of the time, the price difference is negligible, while the differences in quality and appearance are obvious to the naked eye.
Today 10K Gold Rate in US
Current Price: $27.0 USD
Today Low Price: $26.88 USD
Today High Price: $27.17 USD
10K gold is the most affordable type of gold used for engagement rings and other jewelry. It’s also the most durable. Because of this, it’s worth considering if you’re on a strict budget, or if you or your fiancé-to-be have an active lifestyle and need a ring that won’t scratch easily.
Aesthetically, 10K gold isn’t the best choice. Since it’s less than 50% pure gold, it has a fairly pale color that looks significantly less rich and impressive than the color of 14K gold. It’s also more likely to trigger skin allergies than 14K and 18K gold.
As a general rule, we recommend going for 14K gold instead of 10K gold if you’re shopping for an engagement ring or other fine jewelry. The difference in price is small and the higher purity level will make the ring look significantly more beautiful.
WHAT IS 10K GOLD?
Gold is by far the most common material used to make engagement rings and other high-end jewelry. Like many other precious metals, gold comes in a variety of purity levels.
The purity level of gold is categorized using the karat system. Pure gold is 24 karat, with all 24 out of 24 parts consisting of pure, non-alloyed gold.
As we’ve covered in our comparison of 10k, 14k, 18k and 24k gold, pure gold isn’t a very good metal for making jewelry. It’s soft, easy to bend and prone to scratching, which means that any ring made out of pure gold isn’t likely to last for very long.
Pure gold is also extremely bright, with an orange color that doesn’t look very attractive when it’s used for jewelry.
Because of this, gold is almost always alloyed with other metals before it’s used for jewelry. The purity of the gold alloy is then categorized using the karat system.
10K gold consists of 10 parts gold and 14 parts other alloys. Depending on the specific color of the gold, 10K gold is usually a mixture of pure gold and metals such as silver, nickel, palladium, zinc or copper.
In comparison, 14K and 18K gold are made up of 14 and 18 parts gold, respectively. The exact ratio of pure gold to other metals affects the strength and color of the engagement ring of other piece of jewelry, giving 10K gold certain characteristics.
For example, since 10K gold is less pure than 24K gold, it’s less likely to bend, warp or become dented due to pressure or impact. It’s also less likely to scratch. This occurs because the other metals used to produce 10K gold are more durable than pure gold.
10K gold’s relatively low purity level also affects its appearance. As there are only 10 parts pure gold per 24, 10K gold has paler, subtler and less pronounced coloration than 14K, 18K and 24K gold.
PURITY
10 karat gold is made up of 41.7% gold and 58.3% alloy. In the United States and many other countries, 10K gold is the lowest level of purity that can be legally marketed and sold using the word “gold.”
In comparison, 14K gold is 58.3% pure gold and 18K gold is 75% pure gold. This means that less than half of the metal content of a 10K gold ring is actually gold — most is made up of the other metals used for the alloy.
Because of its low purity level, 10K gold isn’t commonly used for engagement rings and other fine, high-end jewelry. Instead, it’s mostly used for items like earrings, bracelets and affordable jewelry.
One reason for this is that the additional metals used to create 10K gold have the potential to trigger allergic skin reactions. For example, some people are allergic to metals like nickel and may experience contact dermatitis from jewelry that contains this metal.
Because these metals are present in higher quantities in 10K gold than in other, purer types of gold, 10K gold is the most likely to trigger these allergies.
The most popular online engagement ring vendors, such as James Allen and Blue Nile, don’t offer any of their settings in 10K gold. Instead, they typically offer settings in 14K gold or 18K gold.
