Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1907-08-22
MEANING OF "SOLID GOLD"
LEGAL AND COMMERCIAL DEF
IN1TIoN OF oFT-UsED PHRASE.
"Ten Karat" Solid In Eyes Of Law,
Though It Ts a Long Way
From Pure.

From the st. Louis Globe Democrat.
The term solid gold" has been the cause
Of much discussion on the part OF manu-
facturers Of gold articles and Of much mis-
apprehension on the part of the public for
some time past, and the recent law fixing
the commercial definition Of the phrase is
welcomed on all sides.
According to this law ten-karat gold Is the
commercial solid gold" and all articles
containing more alloy than this, or all ar
ticles with parts which contain more alloy,
are henceforth to be known as plated, nlled
or rolled gold. and must be SO marked by
the manufacturer. For example. a pin
with top of solid gold even to the value
Of eighteen karats. cannot legally be called
solid If hinge hook or pin ia not ten-karat
throughout. though of much less intrinsic
value than that CT eighteen karats. is legal
ly solid gold"
This law was made to protect the manu-
sellers of ''phony" jewelry. and has been
heartily Endorsed by the legitimate trade
all over the United States.
"Solid Gold" Misnomer.
1T is law which we have long needed"
said st. Louis wholesale jeweller, but
solid gold is a misnomer, and 1 for one
should be very glad to the term aban-
doned and the value stamp used in its
place Commercially speaking, there never
was such thing as solid gold'-at least
not for the last 200 800 years. Some of
the ancient jewelry OF the Roman and the
renaissance periods was made of pure gold.
worked up by hand with the crudest tools,
and that Is, of course, of far greater value
on account Of the purity Of the material
as well as its quaint and beautiful work.
manship and its antiquity than any mod
ern products Of the godsmth's art.
But alloy has been used to a constantly
increasing extent since, because jewelers.
found that the harder the gold was rend-
cred by good alloy the greater it's wearing
qualities and the more secure, therefore.
the setting of the gems it contained. Our
jewelry now is of eighteen, fourteen or ten
karats, according to the design and char
acter Of the article, and 1t is much more
frequently ten than eighteen.
Requirement Of the Law.
'The law requires us to mark on the ar
ticle itself on the card which 1t is at
tached the exact value of the gold in all
the parts. just as the food manufacturers
are now obliged to state the ingredients of
the package on the label, and heavy pen
atty is attached to the use of the words
solid gold If any part of the article con-
tains less than ten karats OF gold.
There is dill now being prepared to be
introduced at the next Congress to abolish
the use Of this term and substitute the
karat stamp for it, and both wholesale and
retail jewelers. over the country will work
hard for its passage. We believe the term
Is calculated to deceive, even when care
fully explained This bill, if passed. will
require manufacturers to stamp all gold
articles with the number of karats regis
tered. Half karat will be allowed for er-
rors, but the manufacturers will have to see
that the gold comes within this limit This
would be great help to the buying public
as well as to us, for then everybody could
see at once what he is getting and there
would not be so many chances for a come
back at U.S.