In precious metals, we often come across the terms 999 or 999,9 or 916. And to add to the mix, some people use terms like 24 Karat or 18 Karat. What’s with these terms you wonder?

Well, they are used to define the fineness of the metal it is referencing. The numbers are easier to understand as they typically translate directly into a percentage purity of the metal in question. So 916 gold means 91.6% pure gold and 8.4% other metals. And 999,9 gold means 99.99% pure gold and so on.

The Karat system is slightly less straightforward. It represents the number of parts out of 24 parts of the metal. The table below shows how it relates to the percentage system:

% Fineness	Fineness	Karat
41.7%	417	10 Karat
58.5%	585	14 Karat
75.0%	750	18 Karat
91.6̅%	916.6̅	22 Karat
99.9%	999	24 Karat

24 Karat gold is technically 100% gold as it is 24 out of 24 parts gold, but it is practically impossible to commercially refine 100% pure gold, hence 99.9% and purer (99.99% and 99.999+%) are generally considered as 24 Karat. Fun fact, while “Karat” and “Carat” is used interchangeably for diamonds, only “Karat” is used for gold.

22 Karat seen in the market is generally 91.7% as 22 out of 24 parts gives 91.6̅%. However, since most people are generally more familiar with the term 916, jewellers often use the term 916 to describe 22 Karat. 

Gold has also been intentionally mixed with other metals such as silver and platinum to form coloured gold. However this is generally only seen in the jewellery industry, not the bullion industry. Rose gold and white gold are the most common when it comes to jewellery, however there are also other alloys like blue gold, purple gold, yellow gold, green gold, grey gold and black gold that are available in the market. 

Bullion carried at RT Bullion are only 24 Karat, WhatsApp us now for a quote of your favourite metal and we will get in touch with you.

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