Distinctive features and disadvantages of Turkish gold. How to buy quality Turkish gold

Good day!

It is customary to bring a souvenir from a holiday abroad. Several years ago, tourists returned from trips to Turkey en masse hung with gold jewelry. Then fashion began to decline. Why popularity on turkish gold didn’t last long and is it worth buying it at all? Let's figure it out together.

Few jewelry buyers in Turkish markets think about the origin of the precious metal. Due to its geographical location and landscape features, the state does not have its own gold deposits. Raw materials for making jewelry are imported from other countries, in particular from the USA and Germany.

The difference between Turkish gold and Russian gold

There are three distinctive features between Russian and Turkish gold:

• origin of the precious metal;
• the presence of a low quality ligature;
• correspondence between the specified sample and the composition of the alloy.

Expert opinion

Vsevolod Kozlovsky

6 years in jewelry. Knows everything about samples and can identify a fake in 12 seconds

All jewelry manufactured in the Russian Federation undergoes quality control, and the mark indicated on the product corresponds to the composition and percentage of the ligature. Turkish legislation does not regulate these issues, and therefore the reliability of the information indicated on the gold remains on the conscience of the sellers, who often resort to deception.

What is the purity of Turkish gold?

Turkish manufacturers of gold jewelry use for marking not the metric system adopted in Russia, but the international one - in carats. The most popular is the “14K” stamp. It corresponds to the 585 sample, which is common among us.

How to decipher a sample

It is impossible to determine the purity of a gold product by eye alone. The decoration must have an appropriate inscription, for example, “14K”. The number varies from 8 to 24 depending on the amount of pure gold in the alloy.

Sample table

To better understand the quality of gold in jewelry, it is better to immediately convert the karat designations of the sample into the metric grading system that is familiar to us. To do this, you can use a simple table.

Composition and properties

Find genuine gold jewelry highest quality(24K) is problematic in the Turkish market. Most products contain impurities, the exact amount of which cannot be determined even from the indicated labeling.

As a result, the ligature finished product has low qualities and poor physical characteristics. They quickly darken during wear and can even cause allergic reaction on the skin.

Metals added to the alloy

To give the jewelry the required color and suitable characteristics, impurities are added to the alloy. If we talk about jewelry Russian production, then silver, palladium or copper are used for them. Turkish masters are not content with only these elements. Nickel and other cheaper metals that cause allergies can also be found in their products.

The most common combinations are:

• copper and aluminum (goldin);
• iron, chromium and nickel (Belgica);
• zinc, copper and brass (tompak).

Application

Gold imported from abroad is used in Turkey to create jewelry. Local craftsmen create jewelry of the most intricate designs and patterns.

Some of the work is carried out in modern style, the prototype of which is the work of world jewelers.

However, the vast majority of jewelry has Byzantine and Greek motifs, richly decorated with precious and semi- precious stones.

Advantages and disadvantages

The main advantage of Turkish gold is its affordable price. This allows you to purchase gifts for yourself and your family, while saving an impressive amount. In addition, Turkish jewelry has an original design, which is practically not found in other countries (with the exception of India).

However, as a rule, such purchases have many more disadvantages.

1. There is a high probability of an allergy to a low-quality composition.
2. Loss of appearance of the product (darkening, loss of shine, oxidation).
3. Under the top “golden” layer there may be ordinary copper or, in best case scenario, silver.

Purchase rules and cost

Detect quality gold decoration in the Turkish market it is difficult, but not impossible. It is enough to be guided by a few simple principles:

• examine the surface of the jewelry and make sure that its color and structure are uniform and there is no physical damage;
• When purchasing a chain or similar bracelet, you must pay attention close attention the quality of the links - they must be well soldered, without pronounced seams.
• It is recommended to make purchases in large jewelry stores (however, even this does not provide a 100% guarantee of quality);
• you can check the quality by sound - throw the product on a table or other flat surface and wait for a ringing blow, characteristic of pure gold;
• if a large and massive-looking dye in fact seems too light, most likely it is tombak;
• In pursuit of a low price, you should not go to extremes. The average price for 1 gram in market shops is about 30 dollars, in reputable jewelry boutiques - 50. Even taking into account the auctions, the cost cannot be much lower.

How to distinguish the original from the fake

The first thing that should catch your eye when buying a fake is the absence of a hallmark or its discrepancy with the appearance of the jewelry. For example, a ring marked 24K cannot possibly have the red tint characteristic of an alloy with a high copper content.

You can also trust modern technology and purchase a jewelry detector. However, there are also disadvantages:

• for a single purchase the device will be expensive;
• the device has a high error.

Where to buy and average price per 1 gram

Market stalls in Istanbul and resort towns in Turkey are not the best place to buy jewelry, if you really want to buy quality item. The risk of becoming the owner of a fake is much higher there. In search of genuine gold jewelry, it is better to go to large jewelry stores.

Zen Diamond and Storks stores are considered one of the most popular stores in Istanbul. Both showrooms have offerings in both gold and silver. The price of yellow precious metal for 1 gram starts from $50. Below you will find the price in Turkish Liras per gram:

How to properly care for gold jewelry

If the gold purchased in Turkey is real, it must be cared for in the same way as Russian gold:

• remove jewelry during cleaning, reception water procedures and working with alkalis;
• store gold only in special boxes, excluding cardboard and wooden boxes;
• Regularly clean products from plaque.

Turkey's jewelry industry is one of the most developed in the world. The country is not on the top list for the extraction of this raw material, but imports it for the production of jewelry intended for sale to tourists. So-called “Turkish gold” (processed, not mined in this country) is known for its lower prices. This is due to the possibilities modern technologies, a developed sales market, sales at settlement prices linked to quotes on the world stock exchange.

Turkish gold has a number of features. First of all, it is yellow, sometimes lemon yellow. Because of this shade, many consider it to be of low quality. Products made from it, as a rule, differ greatly original design. The imagination of Turkish jewelers is simply amazing. The “drip gold” looks amazing, the jewelry from which is subtle patterns. Also in Turkey, jewelry is made from pink, blue, white, green, lemon and lilac gold.

Turkish gold is often decorated with precious stones: diamonds, emeralds, rubies, sapphires, alexandrites, garnets, topazes, turquoise, onyxes, amethysts and many others. Moreover, the products are much cheaper than, for example, Russian gold. So should you trust its quality?

Gold is too soft a metal for jewelry to be made from without adding impurities. IN different countries The ligature is carried out in its own way: in Russia more copper is added, in Turkey - silver. Therefore, Russian gold has a reddish tint, while Turkish gold has a yellow tint.

When purchasing jewelry in specialized stores at an adequate price, you don’t have to worry about getting a fake. Problems usually arise when purchasing gold from the markets at low prices. As a rule, the jewelry offered there is made of 375 gold or gold-plated silver. You need to understand that high-quality jewelry also costs a lot in Turkey. Therefore, purchasing gold product, ask who the manufacturer is, what alloy (additives) are used in production, and don’t be shy to ask the seller to weigh the product to know how much you pay per gram.

Turkish gold, the fineness of which is determined by the percentage of alloy it contains, is measured in the karat system. Gold is considered pure at 24 carats (99%). The most common standard is 14K (14 parts gold and 10 parts additional metals), it corresponds to Products made from this alloy are durable and quite different affordable prices. To be sure that you are purchasing gold that has a genuine hallmark (since there are often cases of purchasing fakes that have a hallmark), you need to know what official foreign hallmarks look like.

Turkish gold can be bought at different prices and of different quality. According to statistics, approximately 60% of gold products imported into Russia from Turkey contain much less precious metal than they should contain, according to the sample. Therefore, you need to approach the choice of place to purchase jewelry with a reasonable amount of caution.

Türkiye is one of the leaders in global production jewelry. This big country occupies the second place of honor in this list. The abundance of bracelets, chains, rings and rings, fine workmanship, shine of metal and low price invariably attract buyers.

But why is Turkish gold cheaper than Russian? And why are pawnshop appraisers distrustful of gold brought from Turkey?

Composition of the ligature

In Russia, most products jewelry industry are made from domestic raw materials with advance known composition. Pure gold - not too much comfortable material. It has low strength, quickly scratches and wrinkles. Therefore, a ligature is added to gold - a mixture of metals that gives the material certain physical properties. First of all, color, density and strength. The composition of additives and percentages are determined by GOST. The most commonly used are copper, zinc, nickel, silver and palladium.

Turkey does not have its own developed fields. All jewelry industry products are made from imported raw materials - Australian, Indian, South African, American. Since the origin of the starting metal is different, it is almost impossible to determine the final composition of the product.

According to GOST standards, silver occupies a large share in Russian alloys. In Turkey - copper and nickel. This not only gives completely different properties to the metal, but can also cause allergies, especially for nickel.

What does sample mean?

Fineness is the percentage of pure gold in an item. The most common 585 standard in Russia means that the product contains 58.5% gold and 41.5% ligature. Sample 583 is already less valuable. And lower values, such as 375, were practically not used in the USSR and are not used in Russia.

In Turkey, as in Europe, the sample is marked in carats. And the most common designation “14K” approximately corresponds to 583 samples. But you can also buy a less “carat” product.

In addition, there is no mandatory state standard for products in Turkey. So the value stamped on the stamp does not necessarily correspond to the actual precious metal content of the ring or chain.

Is direct counterfeit possible?

No matter how smart oriental merchants assure the buyer of the authenticity and originality of jewelry, Turkey is also famous for its masters of counterfeits. It can be:

• silver items with thin gold plating;
• combined chains in which several links are made of gold and the rest are made of yellow imitation;
• products made from an alloy of copper and zinc (tompak).

In appearance, this composition cannot be distinguished from gold. And a tourist who does not have a detector at hand will not recognize a fake a precious metal. In this case, the presence of any stamps will not help, since low-quality products are marked with the markings used for gold.

So you should only purchase gold jewelry in Turkey in large stores, where quality and purity are guaranteed, and carefully inspect them before purchasing. Do not be surprised if the appraiser sets a lower deposit for Turkish gold or refuses to accept it.

Jewelry that was made from Turkish gold has some special features. Compared to analogues, they have a reasonable price.

Many people are interested in how much Turkish gold costs, its fineness, characteristics and what are the main differences from the metal mined in other countries.

The sample is an indicator that notifies the percentage pure metal in this alloy. The higher this marking is, the higher the price of the jewelry will be. In our country, legislation has established that the sample must be indicated on all products.

The most popular marking is 585. This is due to its reasonable cost and good quality. Each gold jewelry consists not only of pure metal, but also of ligature (additives of various non-ferrous metals).

Jewelers mainly use silver, palladium, and copper. They give the product a pleasant color and increase its strength characteristics.

In Turkey itself, gold mining is impossible due to the fact that there are no reserves of the precious metal on their territory.

All Turkish jewelry is made from gold, which is brought from America and Germany. Get acquainted with the ligature Turkish products is also not possible.

The fact is that Turkish legislation does not control the production of the alloy. For this reason, buyers risk purchasing low-quality and unreliable jewelry. Moreover, some of them can cause an allergic reaction.

Many jewelry makers from Turkey, when creating a product, replace palladium with nickel, arguing that it is cheap. Nickel can cause allergies in large number of people.

1. 24 carats – 999 standard.
2. 23 – 958 sample.
3. 18 – 750 sample.
4. 14 – 585 sample.
5. 12 – 500 sample.
6. 9 – 375 sample.

Often Turkish sellers are accustomed to deceiving their customers. Even if the product has a 999 standard, and upon visual inspection it has a red color, this indicates a high copper content in the alloy. From this we can easily assume that the gold purity is far from 999.

How does Turkish gold differ from Russian gold?

To begin with, it is worth considering the gold sample. In Russia, jewelry making is controlled by law. The most popular standard is 585. All jewelry bearing this marking has good strength, pleasant appearance, attractive price. The ligature of such jewelry contains zinc, silver, copper and palladium.

In Turkey, gold mining is impossible, in other words, all gold is brought from other countries, namely from America and Germany. You will not be able to find out the ratio and concentration of the additives present in the decoration.

That is, it is impossible to know how strong and durable the product is. Main distinctive features of Turkish gold from our are as follows:

1. Metal mining site.
2. Guarantee that the markings correspond to the real alloy master alloy.
3. Possible presence of low-quality additives.

It is worth noting that all gold alloys in our country are produced in accordance with GOST. Any buyer does not have to worry about being sold a fake or low-quality jewelry. The same cannot be said about Turkish products, which may contain bad impurities and therefore have a low price.

Despite the fact that some non-ferrous metals can easily cause an allergic reaction. And you will not receive any guarantee on the quality of the jewelry.

Turkish gold price

Most tourists who come to Turkey often purchase gold jewelry because of its low cost. The price of the cheapest jewelry ranges from $40 to $65 per gram. But in return you will receive poor quality product.

In order not to make a mistake when purchasing Turkish gold, you should go to special and large stores, where the seller will be able to provide all the documents for the product. But at the same time, the price will not differ from Russian products, and the quality will still be slightly lower.

When purchasing jewelry in Turkey, it is worth noting that even products with identical characteristics and weight have at different prices, which completely depends on the location of the store.

For example, in the city of Kemer, where many tourists arrive every day, a simple gold chain will cost about 400-500 dollars, and in small town the same chain will cost $100-200 less. In Russia you can purchase it for $600-700 from resellers.

Trying to save your money, you risk buying a low-quality product. Often Turkish sellers, passing off their goods as pure noble metal, in fact, they slip in alloys that have a low purity and a small percentage of gold content.

Turkish gold is considered a good souvenir. But what rules do you need to know so as not to bring home low-quality Turkish jewelry?

Basically, Turkish sellers are used to selling instead noble gold– tombak is an alloy that consists of copper and zinc.

The appearance of such a product will be worthy; it is quite difficult to distinguish it from noble metal. Such a fake can be bought even in specialized Turkish stores.

At the same time, the presence of markings on the decoration does not matter. Jewelry in Turkey often contains too little gold.

Jewelry makers mainly mix two alloys: a third of the jewelry is created from gold, and the rest is made from an additional metal that imitates real gold.

It can be:

1. Electron- gold and silver.
2. Polixenes– platinum, which has a huge number of additives.
3. Goldin– aluminum and copper.
4. Belgium– chromium, nickel, iron.

Even with such a composition, jewelry will still be designated as high grade.

To avoid getting caught in such a purchase, pay attention sufficient quantity attention to the selected product. Some people prefer to use a jewelry detector, but it is worth noting that it cannot always determine the real precious metal from a tombac.

Before making a purchase, check the jewelry by ear: throw the jewelry along with your (gold) one. Make sure that the sound when dropped is exactly the same as that of your jewelry.

All Turkish gold has a pleasant reddish color. Do not trust a seller who passes off his goods as high-grade metal. The red color of the jewelry is due to the high copper content. Therefore, the selected product cannot be highly labeled.