Gold Purity

• In the gold karat scale, one karat amounts to one twenty-fourth pure gold; this means 24k gold is pure gold and 14k gold is 58.5 percent pure.
  
  

Alloys

• Pure gold can be made into 14k gold by mixing it or creating an alloy with other metals such as copper, nickel and zinc.
  
  

Color

• Different alloy mixtures can produce different gold colors such as white gold and different shades of yellow gold.
  
  

Hardness

• Gold is made into alloys like 10k and 14k, due to the fact that pure gold is relatively soft and malleable. Jewelery made from 14k gold is less likely to bend or become damaged.
  
  

Price

• The higher the karat rating of gold, the more expensive it tends to be, despite the fact that pure gold is not as useful for jewelry.