subject: To Tell If Gold Is Real Or Fake.pandora Beads And Pandra Charms [print this page] To tell if gold is real or fake, measure its density. The density of gold, 19.3 grams / cm3, is much higher than most other metals. Even lead has a density of only 11.4 g/cm3 -- platinum, iridium, osmium, and neptunium are the only metals that have a density over 20 g/cm3! (For comparison the density of water is only 1 g/cm3).
To measure the density of a metal, you need a scale or balance (to measure the mass) and a graduated cylinder (to measure the volume).
First weigh the piece of gold on the scale. Then, to determine the volume, add some water to the graduated cylinder. .It doesn't matter how much, but write down exactly how much there is.
Then add the gold to the graduated cylinder. Again, write down the exact water level. Take the difference of the two numbers to get the volume of the gold alone. Remember 1 milliliter = 1 cm3.
Finally, find the density by dividing the mass by the volume (density = mass volume). If what you get is approximately 19 g/cm3, then it is real gold. It might be slightly less because almost all gold jewelry is not actually 100% gold (pure gold is too soft for jewelry). Note also that this method won't work if there parts of the jewelry that are not gold (like gems, etc.) because the density you measure will be affected by those other non-gold parts.
See the Related Questions to the left for more information about how to do this measurement.
real gold is softer than fake, which is why you always see people biting rings and such, to see if it dents. If it does not, it is fake
Or, if you'd like to not have to do a complicated impossible solutions and NOT chip your teeth;
use a magnet on the piece, if it's attracted strongly to the magnet, it's not gold- if it isn't attracted or has a VERY light attraction;
Buy a nitric acid test kit on E-Bay for $20-$30, Rub the piece on the test kit stone, drip a drop of nitric acid onto the rubbing and see if it fades off- if it does, it isn't gold.
