21 Carat

For 21 Carat Gold the number 875 is used to denote 87.5 grams of pure gold per 100 grams of alloy. The figure ‘875’ thus represents 21 carat gold. Despite what some people think, it’s not very common to find pure gold items that are ‘100 per cent’ pure.

Some Indian jewellery and some gold coins are sold with a purity level of 21 carats, or gold 875. The relatively high gold content of 21 Carat gold makes it a softer alloy than lower Carat gold and therefore suitable for the manufacture of intricate designs. The negative aspect of 21 carat jewellery is that it can damaged as the alloy is not as hard wearing in everyday use as a lower carat alloy.

Did you know gold 875 was the same as 21 carat gold? While the term 21 carat gold might be more common, these two expressions of gold purity are synonymous, so don’t worry if you’re being sold gold 875 when you’re searching for 21 carat gold!

Because of relatively high purity, the 21 carat gold rate will be close to but around 12.5% below the ‘pure’ gold rate or price.