How do you tell if gold is real, solid or hollow?

Quick answerUpdated October 2026

You can tell if gold is real with four checks: a karat stamp such as 14K or 585 with no GP, GF, GEP or HGE beside it, no pull from a magnet, a weight that is heavy for its size, and a price per gram above the value of its gold. Even all four are not proof, because stamps are faked. For anything costly, have a jeweller acid-test or XRF-test it while you can still return it.

What do the stamps on gold jewellery mean?

Stamp	What it means	Solid gold?
10K or 417	10 parts gold in 24, about 41.7% gold, the same alloy all the way through. 417 is the same share in parts per thousand.	Yes
14K or 585	14 parts in 24, about 58.3% gold. GIA notes it may be stamped 585 or 583 instead of 14K.	Yes
18K or 750	18 parts in 24: 75% gold, or 750 parts per thousand.	Yes
925	Sterling silver, at least 925 parts per thousand silver (16 CFR 23.5). On a gold-coloured piece it means silver under a gold-coloured coat.	No, silver
1/20 14K GF	Gold filled: a layer of 14K gold bonded on mechanically (soldered, brazed or welded), at least 1/20 of the weight of all the metal.	No, a gold layer over base metal
1/40 12K RGP	Rolled gold plate: the same bonding method, but the layer need only be 1/40 of the weight, and the fraction is part of the mark.	No
14K GP or 14K GEP	Gold plate or gold electroplate: a coat of gold that must be reasonably durable. In the FTC’s examples it is 10K-or-better gold, and electroplate is at least 0.175 microns thick, fine-gold equivalent.	No, a thin coat
HGE	Heavy gold electroplate: at least 2.5 microns, fine-gold equivalent.	No, a thicker coat
14K alone on a very cheap chain	US law says a gold karat mark on a plated piece must come with words that say it is plated (15 U.S.C. 297(a)). Alone, on a chain priced far below its gold, the mark may describe only the plating, or nothing.	Treat as plated until tested

How do you tell if a gold chain is solid or hollow?

Weigh it, or ask for the weight in grams before you buy. Solid gold is dense, so a solid chain feels heavy for its size. On our gold page, a solid 14K Cuban chain 6 mm wide and 24 in long has a listing weight of 66.1 g, while a 14K Miami Cuban with hollow links, 6.5 mm wide and 24 in long, lists 24.8 g: wider, but with little more than a third of the gold. Under the FTC Jewelry Guides, a gold piece with a hollow centre should say so next to the word gold (for example “14 Karat Gold-Hollow Center”) and should not be called solid. “Semi-solid” and “lightweight” are not defined in the guides. The chain wholesaler Ross Metals describes semi-solid links as having a hollow core with thicker walls, so ask whether the links are hollow. Hollow links have thin walls, so they dent and crush more easily than solid ones.

Can the price tell you if it is solid gold?

Often, yes. Divide the price by the weight in grams and compare it with the value per gram for the same karat on our gold page, which follows the live gold price. Sellers do not part with solid gold for less than its gold is worth, so a price per gram under that line almost always means the piece is plated, filled or a lower karat than claimed. With no weight given, compare the price with the gold a solid chain of that size would hold. Link styles vary, so this is only rough, but a “solid 14K” 6 mm, 24 in Cuban priced at a small fraction of the value of 66 g of 14K gold cannot be solid. Being above the line proves nothing on its own: a finished piece normally costs more than its gold because of the making and the shop’s margin.

Does real gold stick to a magnet?

No. Gold, silver and copper are diamagnetic: measured in the laboratory, they are very weakly pushed away by a magnet, never pulled towards it. So the magnet test catches only one kind of fake, a steel or iron core under the plating. If a chain jumps to a strong magnet, it is not solid gold. If it does not, that proves little: gold-plated brass, copper and silver all pass, and so does most gold-plated stainless steel. 316L, the usual jewellery steel, is non-magnetic when annealed, and bending it into links can make it only slightly magnetic (see gold-plated steel). Test the links, away from the clasp: the FTC guides let the springs in a karat gold piece be another metal, and a clasp spring may be steel.

How does a jeweller test gold?

Two ways. The acid test, which GIA calls the touchstone method, rubs a thin streak of the piece onto a dark stone beside streaks from needles of known karat, then applies acid: nitric acid solutions for 14K and below, aqua regia for higher karats. Whichever reference streaks dissolve show roughly where your piece falls. If the piece may not be gold under its surface, GIA’s method starts with a small notch in a hidden spot to expose fresh metal; a strongly fizzing green reaction to the acid means base metal. The other way is X-ray (XRF), which reads the mix of metals without damaging the piece. XRF reads the surface, so plating can fool it too: GIA’s laboratory reports that a precise layer of gold plating on 10K gold can make XRF read 14K or 18K without detecting the plating. GIA notes that the precise methods, XRF and fire assay, need costly equipment, so a small shop may not have one; ask which test you will get before you pay.

Can a fake be stamped 14K?

Yes. On August 28, 2026, NBC 7 San Diego reported that a shopper bought a ring from a third-party seller on Amazon, sold as a 14K white gold moissanite ring and stamped 14K. When it was tested, the gold tester read 0.00 karats, and the ring was mostly copper. Amazon told NBC 7 it had removed the product. A mostly copper ring would most likely not stick to a magnet either, so only a proper test caught it. US law requires a maker or dealer who stamps a karat mark on jewellery sold across state lines, and anyone who imports stamped jewellery, to put its trademark or name on the piece as close to the mark as possible (15 U.S.C. 297(b)), so a karat stamp with no maker’s mark beside it is one more reason to test. Read the metal line on the listing too: our guide to reading a listing sorts listing words into ones you can check at home and ones you cannot.

Frequently Asked Questions

Is 10K gold real gold?

Yes. 10K is 10 parts gold in 24, about 41.7% gold, alloyed all the way through, and it is stamped 10K or 417. It holds less gold than 14K, so each gram is worth less, but it is real gold alloy if the stamp is genuine. The FTC’s own examples of correct marks even include 9 karat.

Does real gold stick to a magnet?

No. Pure gold is very weakly repelled by a magnet, as are silver and copper. A strong pull means steel or iron inside, but no pull does not prove gold: plated brass, copper and most stainless steel jewellery do not stick either.

Is gold filled real gold?

It has a real gold layer, at least 10K, making up at least 1/20 of the weight of the metal, bonded over a base metal such as brass. That is far more gold than plating, but it is not solid gold, and most of its weight is base metal.

Is semi-solid gold the same as solid gold?

No. The FTC guides do not define semi-solid, and they say a piece with a hollow centre should disclose it and should not be called solid. Semi-solid links usually have a hollow core with thicker walls than hollow chains. Ask whether the links are hollow and what the chain weighs in grams.

Sources

Keep reading

Amazon links are affiliate links (tag thegemtray-20): buying through them costs you nothing extra and supports the site. As an Amazon Associate we earn from qualifying purchases.