How to Tell if Gold Is Real: 11 Guides Compared

How to tell if gold is real: read the purity stamp (14K, 18K, 585 or 750), hold a strong magnet to the piece, and take anything that matters to a jeweler for an XRF (X-ray fluorescence) scan. No single home test proves it.

We compared 11 guides on October 7, 2026. Only the magnet test appears in all 11, and the guides themselves say a magnet pass proves little. We took the pages Google shows for this question and for home gold testing searches. Four more, including Gabriel & Co. and Colonial Jewelers, would not load, so they are not counted.

Ten of the 11 pages come from companies that sell or buy gold and jewelry. One is a publication, Fashion Law Journal. At least four of the sites are outside the US (the UK, Australia and Israel), which matters for stamps. We counted what each page says and tested none of it, so the counts show who says what, and say nothing about what works.

How to tell if gold is real: which tests do the 11 guides give?

The magnet test is the only one all 11 give. After that, agreement drops fast.

Seven guides send you to a jeweler or an XRF scan. Goldzenn calls XRF "the most accurate method," and USA Jewels adds that fire assay is the most accurate of all but destroys a small sample.

Does real gold stick to a magnet?

No. Gold is not magnetic, and all 11 guides give the magnet test. If a piece sticks to a magnet, it is not solid gold. If it does not stick, that proves little, because copper and brass are not magnetic either.

Use a strong magnet. Jaxxon says a rare-earth magnet works best and a fridge magnet "may be too weak." Test the body of a chain or ring, not the clasp. USA Jewels notes that clasps can hold a small amount of magnetic metal even on real gold.

Goldzenn calls the magnet test "a quick elimination tool, not a confirmation tool." Fashion Law Journal's comparison table says the same in fewer words: it "screens fakes only."

What does 585 or 14K stamped on gold mean?

A stamp states purity. 14K means 14 parts gold out of 24, or 58.3%, and the European number for 14K is 585. Jaxxon says the US norm is the K stamp, while European gold is marked on a scale of 1 to 999.

Goldzenn says 585 is 58.5% gold, and Fashion Law Journal puts 14K at 58.3%. The two scales differ: the karat scale counts parts out of 24, and the European scale counts parts out of 1,000.

Five guides warn that stamps can be faked. Jaxxon puts it plainly: anyone can stamp a fake piece "14K." Read the stamp as one data point. Jaxxon says to look inside a ring band, and near the clasp on a necklace or bracelet.

Can gold be real if it isn't stamped?

Yes, and the guides stress different cases for why a piece may carry no stamp. Goldzenn says the absence of a stamp "does not automatically mean a piece is fake," because very old or handmade jewelry may lack stamps. Gindi Gold says a missing stamp "requires testing."

Both can hold. A missing stamp means the stamp cannot vouch for the piece, so the other tests matter more, and a jeweler's scan matters most.

Does real gold sink in water?

Yes. Solid gold is dense and sinks quickly, and nine guides give the float or density test. Goldzenn, Jaxxon and USA Jewels all say real gold sinks immediately or quickly. A piece that floats is not solid gold. A piece that sinks is not proven, because other dense metals sink too.

Pure gold has a density of 19.32 g/ml, according to Mozeris. Alloys sit lower. Goldzenn lists expected ranges for the density math (weight divided by the water the piece displaces):

Gindi Gold calls it the home test that "comes closest to a real measurement," then adds that it is not always accurate for pieces with stones, hollow spaces, links or complex shapes. Hollow gold chains read low. USA Jewels says a hollow gold chain "may not sink as quickly but is still real gold."

Does real gold turn your skin green?

Not usually. Six guides give the skin test: green, black or dark marks suggest plating over a base metal, and USA Jewels says solid gold chains and rings should not discolor skin. Goldzenn and USA Jewels both say a green or black mark points to plating over a base metal.

The test can also fail on real gold. USA Jewels says skin chemistry can cause reactions "even with real gold." Fashion Law Journal says some people react to 10K gold because of its higher share of other metals, even though it counts as real gold.

Where the 11 guides disagree

Six tests split the guides, and the warnings come from the same pages that sell the tests.

Arden Jewelers is the only page that reports testing the tests. In its video, the magnet, liquid foundation and a destructive bleach test caught some fakes. Vinegar, lemon juice, baking soda and toothpaste caught none of its fakes. It says the foundation test "didn't catch every fake" and that the magnet "won't catch every fake," so treat even the winners as screens.

The ceramic streak has a catch of its own. Jaxxon says a gold-colored streak means the piece is likely real gold "or at least genuinely gold-plated at the surface." A pass does not rule out plating.

Some advice has a business behind it. Gindi Gold and Mozeris both offer XRF testing, and USA Jewels sells gold jewelry. That does not make them wrong. It does explain why so many guides end at a jeweler's door.

What order do the guides suggest?

We built this order from the tables above. We did not test it on jewelry, so read it as a summary of the guides and not a tested method.

1. Read the stamp with a magnifying glass. Nine guides give this check.
2. Hold a strong neodymium magnet to the body of the piece. Eleven guides give this one, and no guide warns against it.
3. Weigh it and check the water test, on solid pieces only. Skip it for hollow chains and pieces with stones.
4. Skip vinegar, flame, toothpaste and biting. Each has a guide that says it does not work or does harm.
5. Take anything you plan to buy or sell to a jeweler. Seven guides end here, and Jaxxon says to treat a piece as fake or heavily plated "until a professional says otherwise" if it fails several tests.

Fashion Law Journal says no home test "definitively proves exact karat weight."

How can you tell gold plated from solid gold?

Look for the letters. Jaxxon lists GF (gold filled), GP (gold plated) and GEP (gold electroplate), and says each holds only "a fraction" of real gold. USA Jewels adds HGE as another plated mark and says the plated layer is often just microns thick and "will eventually wear off."

Vermeil is a related case: USA Jewels describes it as gold plating over sterling silver. Our guides cover what gold vermeil is and how to clean gold plated jewelry. Silver pieces behave differently, and our sterling silver tarnish comparison covers them.

When should you take it to a jeweler?

Take it for any piece you plan to buy or sell, any piece that fails one home test, and any hollow or stone-set piece the water test cannot read. Goldzenn says XRF is non-destructive and highly accurate, and electronic testers read only the surface, so thick gold plating over a base metal core can fool them.

If you are checking jewelry from an online seller, start with our guide to how safe Etsy is to buy from. For shops we vetted, see our Etsy jewelry shop picks and our vintage jewelry guide. Those guides carry Etsy affiliate links. This page has none.

If you do one thing before you buy or sell a piece, book the jeweler's XRF scan. No guide we read warns against it.