9ct Versus 18ct

9ct gold and 18ct gold are the most common types of gold purity you will find in the UK jewellers. One of the most common assumptions is that 9ct is stronger than 18ct. This is not necessarily true. It depends on the other types of metal used to make up the rest of the allow. Generally, jewellery items made from 18 carat gold are of a higher quality anyway, and therefore use harder and higher quality metals in the alloy.

Another assumption is that 9ct and 18ct items should not be worn next to each other, in case one wears the other out over a period of time. Generally this is not a real issue. There is not a significant difference in the hardness between the two, and wear will always occur when rubbing is involved, even if two metals are identical.

The main difference between 9ct and 18ct is 1) the colour - 18ct has more gold so is a more rich "gold" colour 2) knowing that you simply are wearing more pure gold.