The same holds true for the gem and jewelry industry: For years a global manufacturing hub, China is emerging as the strongest consumer market for luxury products such as jewelry. Chinese consumers are now synonymous with luxury products, and this is true with gemstones and jewelry.
Pure gold is so soft it is rarely used in jewelry. Jewelers deal with various gold alloys, collectively called karat gold. Karat (K) tells the number of parts, by weight, of gold in 24 parts of alloy. The higher the percentage of pure gold, the higher the karat. Pure gold is 24K; 18K is 18 parts fine gold and 6 parts metal; 14K is 14 parts fine gold and 10 parts metal; and 10K is 10 parts fine gold and 14 parts other metal. A diamond certificate is a report that attests to the authenticity of a diamond.
Pure gold is too soft to be used in everyday jewelry, so it is alloyed with other metals to make it stronger and more durable. Pure gold is 24 karat, and 14 karat gold refers to an alloy of gold that contains at least 58.3% pure gold by weight. The balance is made up of other metals to give it strength. Gold is often alloyed with copper, silver, and zinc. Copper is ductile and hard, but tends to tint the alloy pink and is prone to oxidizing.