Throughout history, gold has held a certain allure to just about every major civilization. If you are considering buying gold jewelry, you should know more about the allure.

Gold has been the driving force behind many of the world's biggest events. Wars, colonization, westward expansion and more have all been caused because of the search for this precious metal. Today, gold is still the standard on which most forms of trade and money are based – the cost of gold per ounce, along with the amount of gold a country has stockpiled, can make a difference in the wealth of a country. Gold is also still a very important part of the jewelry business.

Gold's abbreviation on the periodic table of elements is Au – and it is one of the first known metals in history. Valued by almost all major societies and historical cultures from the beginning of time, there are terms for the word gold found in almost every language (some examples are oro and tesoro). Gold quantities are measured in a specific measurement type called “Troy Measurements”. One Troy pound is divided into 12 Troy ounces – and these do not correspond to typical pounds and ounces. This is a good thing to remember when purchasing gold.

Gold also is designated by its purity. Karatage, which is shown by the letter “K” following a number, shows buyers the purity of the metal. Karatage is divided into 24ths, with 24K gold being fully pure. Pure gold is not good for making jewelry because it is incredibly soft and would bend and lose its shape if used for a piece. Other karats of gold are mixed with different metals in order to give them more strength and stability. 22K gold, the next level down from pure, is 91.7% gold and still too soft for jewelry. The two best karat types for jewelry are 18K (used for very fine jewelry with 75% gold) and 14K (most gold jewelry is made of this type of gold, which is 58.3% gold).

Another issue concerning gold that you might not anticipate at first is the color. There are typically three gold colors: yellow (what some consider to be real gold), white and rose. White and rose golds are created by adding different alloys and metals to yellow gold. This alters the chemical makeup of the gold, and can lessen its worth, so be sure you are okay with this before purchasing colored gold. In general, white and rose gold are valued less than the typical yellowing color.