The fewer karats of gold a piece of jewelry has the less expensive the necklace or bracelet or ring is. Why is that? Lower karat items cost less because they contain less pure gold. Pure gold, or 24 karat gold, contains no other metals to make it stronger and less vulnerable to damage. The karat amount of a piece of jewelry is determined by the amount of other metals that are alloyed or mixed in with gold. This combining of other metals with the gold also affects the price of a jewelry item as well.

10 karat gold is 10 parts gold to 14 parts of an alloy. This adds up to 24 parts total. Therefore, 14 karat gold contains 14 parts pure gold and 10 parts of another metal, which combined equals 24. The more of an alloy metal that is mixed with the pure gold, the stronger the gold becomes. In addition, the price of the jewelry drops because the amount of pure gold it contains is less. Pure gold currently sells for $750 an ounce.

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