The single best way to never buy fake gold is to buy from a reputable dealer with a paper trail. But sometimes you inherit jewelry from a grandmother, sometimes you're shopping in a small market, sometimes a friend offers a deal that's "too good to pass up". A few simple tests at home can sort real from fake in minutes.
Test 1: The magnet test
Gold is non-magnetic. Hold a strong neodymium magnet near the piece. If it pulls toward the magnet, there's magnetic metal inside — almost certainly iron or steel coated in gold. Real gold won't budge.
This catches the cheapest fakes (gold-plated iron bars) but not the sophisticated ones. Some fake "gold" bars use tungsten cores, which is non-magnetic. So a passing magnet test doesn't prove real gold; it just rules out the cheapest fraud.
Test 2: The hallmark check
Every legitimate gold piece carries a stamp showing its karat or fineness:
- "24K", "22K", "21K", "18K", "14K" — karat-based
- "999", "916", "875", "750", "585" — millesimal fineness (parts per thousand)
- "PAMP", "Argor-Heraeus", "Valcambi" — refiner stamps
- Country-specific marks — "ELP" (Egypt), Saudi star marks, etc.
Check the hallmark with a magnifying glass. Crisp deep stamps with sharp edges are legitimate. Shallow blurry stamps, or stamps that don't match any recognised marking system, are red flags.
Test 3: The ceramic plate test
Find an unglazed ceramic plate (the back of a kitchen tile works). Rub the gold piece firmly across the surface. Real gold leaves a faint gold-coloured streak. Fake gold leaves a black or grey streak (because the underlying base metal is exposed).
This test will scratch jewelry slightly, so use it only on hidden parts (inside the band of a ring, back of a pendant).
Test 4: The density test
Gold's density is 19.32 g/cm³ — much denser than nearly all metals it might be faked with (lead is 11.3, brass is 8.5). Two ways to measure:
- Heft test (rough) — pure gold feels much heavier than expected for its size. A 1-cm cube of gold weighs 19.3 grams; a similar cube of brass weighs only 8.5 grams.
- Water displacement (precise) — weigh the piece dry. Submerge in a measured volume of water, note the displacement. Divide weight by displacement = density. Compare to 19.32.
The exception: tungsten has nearly identical density to gold (19.25 g/cm³). High-end fakes use tungsten cores plated with gold. Density alone won't catch those.
Test 5: The acid test
Jewelry stores sell acid testing kits (~$15). You scratch a small streak on a black stone, drop a small acid sample (different strengths for different karats), and observe:
- Real gold of the matching karat → no reaction
- Lower karat than claimed → faint reaction
- Not gold → dissolves quickly
This is destructive (you're scratching the piece) so use it only when you have permission or it's your own item.
The professional option
For high-value purchases, take the piece to a jeweller with an XRF analyser. The machine fires X-rays at the metal, reads the spectroscopic response, and tells you the exact composition in seconds. Non-destructive, accurate to fractions of a karat. Many jewellers will test a piece you bought elsewhere for a small fee.
Trust the dealer relationship more than any home test. A reputable dealer who's been in business for decades and gives you a written certificate of authenticity is worth more than an hour of home testing. Save the tests for second-hand purchases and "favours from friends".
For a gold watcher
If you log purchases in DahabPro's wallet, include the dealer name + certificate number in your notes. When inheritance or resale comes up years later, you'll have the paper trail that any future buyer (or insurance adjuster) will want.