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. 10K gold consists of 10 parts gold and 14 parts other alloys. 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.” 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.
10K gold is ideal for cost-effective jewelry pieces like bracelets, pendants, or earrings, especially when prioritizing durability over gold content. However, it’s typically not the preferred option for engagement rings.
Are you looking to sell your gold? This article is geared towards helping people looking to purchase jewelry. If you are looking to sell your gold, feel free to hop on over to our Selling Your Jewelry page. If you are looking to sell your diamond engagement ring, we have a specific article for Selling Your Diamond Ring
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Here’s what we’ll cover in this article:
10K gold: Purity
10K gold: Color
Advantages and disadvantages of 10K white gold
Advantages and disadvantages of 10K yellow gold
Advantages and disadvantages of 10K rose gold
10K gold: Price
When should you buy a 10K gold ring?
FAQs
Why you should trust us
To help you with the diamond buying process we lean on our expertise and experience. The author of this article, our CEO, Mike Fried has over 20 years of experience in the diamond industry. Mike started from the bottom, sorting and evaluating hundreds of thousands of diamonds to learn every facet (pun intended) of diamond quality and value. Mike followed that up by spending years buying and selling diamonds on the wholesale market as well as selling tens of millions of dollars worth of diamonds to diamond retailers.
Bottom Line Recommendation
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.
Consider a 14K yellow gold setting like this pavé engagement ring from James Allen, a white gold halo setting like this from James Allen or a solitaire rose gold setting like this from James Allen. These settings are durable and well priced, all while providing better aesthetics than those in lower purity 10K gold.
Deal Alert: Get 25% off engagement ring settings at Blue Nile! (valid until May 6th)
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.
According to Hobart M. King, PHD in geology, the overwhelming majority of gold is used for jewelry. Roughly 10% is used by governments for coinage and reserves. 12% is used for consumer electronics.
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.
Color
Just like other types of gold, 10K gold comes in three color options: white gold, yellow gold, and rose gold. Each color is made using a slightly different blend of metals that, when blended with the gold, can change its appearance.
Of these three colors, there’s no best option for everyone. If you’re shopping for a 10K gold ring or other jewelry, it’s best to choose the color based on you or your fiancé-to-be’s own tastes and preferences.
Below, we’ve listed the main advantages and disadvantages of each 10K gold color to help you choose the best option for your tastes and needs.
10K White Gold
10K white gold is an alloy of 41.7% gold and other metals such as silver, zinc and palladium. A ring or other piece of jewelry made out of 10K white gold will usually contain as much as 47.4% silver, 10% palladium and 0.9% zinc, meaning less than half of the metal is pure gold.
Like other types of white gold, it’s common for a rhodium coating to be applied to 10K white gold jewelry. This coating helps to protect the gold against corrosion and make it more durable.
Contrary to popular belief, there’s no such thing as “pure” white gold. All white gold, whether it’s 10K, 14K or 18K, develops its white tone from the mix of silver, zinc and other metals used in its production.
Advantages of 10K white gold:
- White gold is a very popular metal for engagement rings, earrings and other jewelry at this point in time, although it’s less traditional than yellow gold.
- Compared to other white metals, such as platinum, white gold is very affordable. This is particularly true for 10K gold, which is the most affordable type of white gold that’s used for jewelry.
- White gold is made using silver, zinc and palladium, which are relatively durable metals that increase its strength. These metals make up a fairly large percentage of 10K gold, making it a durable, quite scratch-resistant metal.
- The color of white gold is light and neutral, meaning it won’t make diamonds and other white gemstones appear to have a yellow or pink color — a common issue with yellow and rose gold.
- For people with rosy or fair skin tones, white gold’s light and neutral appearance looks particularly elegant and beautiful.
Disadvantages of 10K white gold:
- Just like with 14K and 18K white gold, the rhodium coating used on 10K white gold can wear off over time, meaning you’ll need to get it fixed every few years to maintain its protective benefits, color and luster.
- 10K gold isn’t commonly used in high quality engagement rings, meaning you might find it difficult to find this metal struggle to find this metal (although 14K white gold is common and still very affordable).
- Some of the metals used to produce 10K white gold can cause skin allergies. Because 10K gold has such a large amount of alloy metals relative to its gold content, 10K white gold is more likely to trigger allergic reactions than 14K or 18K gold.
Metal allergies affect between 10 and 15% of the population. If you or your fiancé-to-be aren’t allergic to nickel or other common alloy metals, you can safely wear 10K and 14K white gold without any concerns.
10K Yellow Gold
10K yellow gold is an alloy of 41.7% gold, as well as silver and copper. Most 10K yellow gold is made up of 52% silver and 6.3% copper in addition to its gold content. This means that there’s actually more silver in 10K yellow gold than there is pure gold.
Like other types of 10K gold, yellow gold of this purity level isn’t a very common choice for high-quality engagement rings. Instead, most reputable engagement ring vendors offer 14K as their lowest purity level for yellow gold.
Advantages of 10K yellow gold:
- Yellow gold is the most classic, traditional gold color for engagement rings and other jewelry, although the warmth and color tone is lighter with 10K gold than it is with 14K gold.
- Thanks to its classic, traditional looks, yellow gold is a good choice for vintage-inspired earrings, bracelets and other jewelry.
- Yellow gold isn’t typically coated with rhodium, meaning you won’t need to get jewelry dipped like you would with white gold.
- As with other 10K gold colors, 10K yellow gold is very affordable. In fact, it’s the least expensive type of yellow gold on the market.
- It’s generally quite easy for jewelers to manipulate yellow gold, although the low purity level of 10K gold can affect this.
- Yellow gold looks particularly good on people with olive or darker skin tones, making it worth considering if you or your fiancé-to-be have this type of skin tone.
- The color of this type of gold can help to conceal yellow in a diamond, making it a good choice if you choose a diamond with a low color grade.
- Due to its low purity level, 10K yellow gold is very durable. This type of gold is far less likely to dent, warp or scratch than 14K or 18K gold.
Engagement Ring Inspiration (Click a Ring for More Information)
Disadvantages of 10K yellow gold:
- The low purity level of 10K yellow gold means that the yellow color is quite muted and mild, especially in comparison to 14K and 18K yellow gold. This means that you won’t see the same richness of color as you would with a purer yellow gold.
- Like 10K white gold, 10K yellow gold is a relatively impure gold that can trigger some skin allergies. If you or your fiancé-to-be have a copper allergy, 10K yellow gold might cause your skin to feel itchy and irritated.
- Also like 10K white gold, yellow gold of this purity level isn’t widely used for high quality engagement rings and other jewelry.
10K Rose Gold
10K rose gold is an alloy of 41.7% gold, as well as silver and copper. The most common alloy composition for 10K rose gold is 20% silver and 38.3% copper. Because of its copper content, rose gold has a warm, attractive pinkish-red color.
Just like white and yellow gold, 10K rose gold isn’t very pure. As a result, its color is noticeably duller than 14K and 18K rose gold. It’s slightly more durable than 14K rose gold and is popular for earrings and other mid-range jewelry, but isn’t widely used for engagement rings.
Advantages of 10K rose gold:
- Rose gold is an increasingly stylish choice for engagement rings and other jewelry that has a warm, romantic pinkish-red color. However, this color isn’t quite as impressive in 10K gold as it is in higher purity 14K and 18K rose gold.
- 10K rose gold contains almost 40% copper, a relatively inexpensive metal. Because of this, it’s often a more affordable metal than white gold and yellow gold.
- The high copper content of rose gold, and particularly 10K rose gold, makes it a strong type of gold that’s difficult to bend, warp or scratch.
- Rose gold is aesthetically versatile, meaning it can look fantastic on pale, olive or dark stone tones.
Disadvantages of 10K rose gold:
- Like with other types of 10K gold, rose gold doesn’t have such an attractive color at this purity level as its 14K and 18K variants. This dull, lighter color means that 10K rose gold isn’t widely used for engagement rings and other fine jewelry.
- Because 10K rose gold contains a large amount of copper, it’s more likely to trigger skin allergies than 14K and 18K gold.
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.
When is 10K Gold the Right Choice?
10K gold is a great choice for an affordable bracelet, pendant, a pair of earrings or other jewelry, especially if you value durability over gold purity. However, it’s usually not the best choice for an engagement ring.
Trusted online engagement ring vendors like James Allen and Blue Nile don’t offer their settings in 10K gold, largely due to its low purity level. This means that if you opt for 10K gold, you won’t be able to buy from two of the best value for money vendors in the industry.
If you’re looking for a durable, affordable type of gold, we recommend choosing a setting that’s made from 14K gold instead. Not only will it look better, but the difference in price will be close to nothing.
Need help choosing the right metal for your fiancé-to-be’s engagement ring? Learn more about the different types of gold in our comparison guide to 10K, 14K and 18K gold, or contact us for personalized advice on the best jewelry for your tastes and budget.
FAQs About 10K Gold
Is 10K gold good or bad?
10K gold is not the best, as it is less than 50% pure gold, and has a pale, less-impressive color than higher-karat golds. Yet it has its advantages, as 10K gold is more durable, more scratch-resistant, and can make a solid choice for those on a budget.
Is 10K gold worth anything?
10K gold is worth quite a bit less than higher-karat golds, but it still has some value. It’s made up of 41.7% pure gold and has a value of around $25 per gram, which is certainly not nothing. If you’re interested in selling your jewelry, check out our selling gold article.
Does 10 karat gold tarnish?
10K gold may tarnish easier than other types, due to the other non-gold metals present, which are more prone to oxidization. However, it should take some time before fading, and regular cleaning and care can help 10K gold maintain its shine.
Is 10K gold cheap gold?
10K gold is relatively cheap. In the US, and a lot of other countries, it’s the lowest purity level, and thus the cheapest type of gold, which can be used for products advertised as “gold”.
This makes it the cheapest type of gold you’ll find used for engagement ring settings, and it is also commonly used for other types of affordable jewelry, such as bracelets and pendants.
Why is 10K gold so cheap?
10K gold is cheaper due to the lower purity level. It contains 41.7% pure gold, with the other 58.3% made up of a combination of other metals, making it overall cheaper per gram.
Is 10K gold a lot of money?
10K gold is fairly affordable, and the cheapest type of gold you’re likely to come across on the jewelry market. It still has some value, but it’s much less costly than higher-karat, more pure golds.
Here are more specific metal topics to browse:
- What is 14K gold?
- What is 18K gold?
- What is 24K gold?
- Which is better: 10K and 14K gold?
- What’s the difference between 14K and 18K gold?
- 10K, 14K, 18K and 24K Gold: What’s the difference?
- How does platinum compare to white gold?
- Which metal is better for wedding bands: platinum or palladium?
- Which metal is BEST for wedding bands?
What we love about them:
- No questions asked returns within 30 days of shipment. James Allen will send you a paid shipping label to return the ring.
- Lifetime Warranty
- Free International Shipping
- Free prong tightening, repolishing, rhodium plating and cleaning every 6 months
- Provide insurance appraisals
- One free resizing within 60 days of purchase
- Free ring inscriptions
- Best-in-class high quality imagery of all diamonds in stock
- 24/7 Customer Service
- Best-in-class packaging
What we love about them:
- No questions asked returns within 30 days of shipment. Blue Nile will send you a paid shipping label to return the ring.
- Lifetime Warranty
- Free Shipping
- Free prong tightening, repolishing, rhodium plating and cleaning every 6 months
- Provide insurance appraisal
- One free resizing within the first year of purchase
- High quality images of about half of their diamonds
- 24/7 Customer Service
- 100% credit towards future upgrades (must be at least double in value)
- Best in class fulfillment
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