The Journal
9K, 10K, 14K or 18K gold: which is right for you
Pure gold is too soft to hold a stone. Every piece of gold jewellery is an alloy: gold mixed with other metals for strength and colour. The karat number tells you how much of that mix is gold, and it is the biggest decision you make on a VIBHINI piece after the stone.
In short
9K is 37.5% gold, 10K 41.7%, 14K 58.5% and 18K 75%. Lower karats are paler, harder-wearing and cost less; higher karats are richer in colour, softer and cost more, and 18K holds twice the gold of 9K. 14K is the balance most people choose for daily wear. Our 9K, 14K and 18K are BIS hallmarked; 10K isn’t covered by hallmarking. Gold colour never changes the price.
What the numbers mean
| Karat | Gold content | Hallmarked in India |
|---|---|---|
| 9K | 37.5% | Yes |
| 10K | 41.7% | Not covered by BIS hallmarking |
| 14K | 58.5% | Yes |
| 18K | 75% | Yes |
The rest of the alloy is other metals, and those are what give yellow, white and rose gold their colours. The gold content is identical across the three colours at the same karat, which is why colour never changes our price.
What changes as the karat goes up
Colour deepens. 18K yellow is unmistakably gold: warm and saturated. 14K is a softer yellow. 9K is paler still. In rose gold the effect reverses slightly, because more copper in a lower-karat alloy makes the pink read stronger.
The metal gets softer. Gold is a soft metal, so the more of it there is, the more easily the piece marks. A 9K band takes daily knocks better than an 18K one; an 18K band picks up the fine surface scratches that give old gold its patina. Neither is fragile, and both hold stones securely when set properly.
The price rises twice over. An 18K ring holds twice the gold of the same ring in 9K, and it also weighs more, because gold is heavier than the metals it replaces. That is why the gap between 9K and 18K on our pages is wider than you might expect. What decides the price of a ring sets out the rest of the arithmetic.
Hallmarking
Our 9K, 14K and 18K gold jewellery is BIS hallmarked: a small mark on the piece with a six-character code that can be checked. Indian hallmarking does not cover 10K, so a 10K piece comes without one.
White gold needs a word of its own
White gold alloys are not naturally bright white; they run pale grey or faintly warm. Jewellers finish them with rhodium plating to bring them to a cool white, and that surface wears thin over years of daily wear, usually first on the underside of a band. Replating restores it, and on gold we do it free for as long as you own the piece — you pay only the postage. Details are in Resizing & Care.
So which should you choose?
9K if you want the lowest price in gold, the most robust band and a paler colour. A sensible choice for an everyday ring that will take a beating, and for a first fine piece.
14K if you want a proper gold colour without the 18K price. For most people buying a ring to wear daily, this is the balance point.
18K if the colour matters most, or the piece is a marker: an engagement ring, an anniversary piece, something meant to be handed on. It is the richest yellow and the warmest rose.
10K if you want gold at the lowest possible price and the absence of a hallmark does not trouble you.
Silver, rhodium-plated or gold-plated, sits below all of them in price. It is a different proposition, and worth understanding on its own terms before you choose it.
A note on wear
Whatever karat you choose, the stones are set the same way by the same hands, and the cover is the same: six months against manufacturing defects, then free polishing for as long as you own the piece, and free resizing within one size on a ring that can take it.
Quick answers
- Which gold is strongest?
- 9K. It has the least gold in the alloy, so it resists marking best.
- Which gold looks the most yellow?
- 18K. The colour comes from the gold itself.
- Does white or rose gold cost more than yellow?
- No. At the same karat the price is identical.
- Is 9K gold still gold?
- Yes: 37.5% gold by weight, and BIS hallmarked.
- Can I change karat after ordering?
- Before making starts, yes. Tell us and we will requote at the day's rate.