A gold bracelet is a piece of jewelry made from gold that is worn around the wrist. Gold bracelets are one of the most versatile pieces of jewelry, as they can be worn by men or women, young or old, married or unmarried. They can be simple in design, or very ornate. They can be light and delicate, a shimmering strand that catches the eye, or they can be heavy and chain-like, a real statement piece. They vary widely in cost, largely dependent on the weight, workmanship, and percentage of pure gold used in the bracelet.

Regardless of your personal style and preferences, there are a few essentials to know about buying a gold bracelet. First, gold bracelets will vary in the percentage of pure gold used in them. Pure gold is far too soft to be used by itself in jewelry. It must be mixed, or alloyed, with other metals to give it the strength and durability that allows it to be made into jewelry that can be worn daily and will last a lifetime. Pure gold is most commonly mixed with zinc, copper, silver, nickel, or palladium.

The purity of gold is commonly expressed in karats. Pure gold is 24 karats. This means that the gold has 24 parts of pure gold per 24 parts of metal; in other words, it is 100% gold. Other common forms of gold are 10 karats, 14 karats, 18 karats, and 22 karats. 14 and 18 karat gold are the ones commonly used in jewelry. 14 karat gold has 14 parts of pure gold to 10 parts of other metals, while 18 karat gold has 18 parts of pure gold to 6 parts of other metals. You can see, therefore, that 14 karat gold is about 58% pure, while 18 karat gold is 75% pure. The higher the purity, the more expensive the gold bracelet. To discover the purity of a gold bracelet, look for the hallmark, or engraving, which has a number (like 10, 14, 18, or 22) followed by the letter “K” or the letters “kt.”

Gold bracelets vary in color as well. Pure gold is a deep yellowy-orange color, but you may have noticed that you can also find “rose gold,” “white gold,” and even green, purple, and blue golds. The first two are quite common, while the latter three are not. The color of a gold bracelet, or any gold product, will depend on which metals were used in creating the original alloy. For white gold, pure yellow gold is mixed with white metals like platinum, palladium, nickel, or zinc. Rose gold is an alloy of pure gold mixed with copper; green gold is pure gold mixed with silver, copper, and sometimes cadmium; purple gold is pure gold mixed with aluminium; and blue gold is pure gold mixed with iron.

To buy a gold bracelet, simply find a style that you like, in the color of your choosing, and then find the hallmark to check for its purity.