Pure gold is generally considered too soft to make into everyday jewelry. It bends, scratches, and wears away with friction. Even in ancient times, gold was frequently alloyed with other metals to keep its shining glow but with added strength, durability, and a range of colors. White gold's look is achieved by alloying gold with nickel, silver, or palladium. Red gold is created by alloying gold with copper. Most yellow gold contains varying amounts of nickel, copper, and zinc. The purity of gold (or percentage of pure gold in an alloy) is measured in karats (kt). Karat should not to be confused with a "carat" (ct), the unit of weight for diamonds. Here's a quick chart to break down the conversion:

24 karat gold is currently very popular in Asia, where it has the Chinese name chuk kam. 10 karat gold is the lowest amount jewelers in the United States can call real gold. Most popular in the West is 14 or 18 karat gold, which is warmly lustrous and finely workable but strong enough to wear every day.When gold is weighed, it is generally measured in grams (g) or ounces (oz). All real gold jewelry must have its karatage clearly stamped on it.