Nitric acid
Some precious metals, such as pure gold and platinum-group metals do not react with nitric acid, though pure gold does react with "aqua regia", a mixture of concentrated nitric acid and hydrochloric acid. However, some less noble metals (Ag, Cu, ...) present in some gold alloys relatively poor in gold such as colored gold can be easily oxidized and dissolved by nitric acid, leading to colour changes of the gold-alloy surface. Nitric acid is used as a cheap means in jewelry shops to quickly spot low-gold alloys (&lt; 14 karats) and to rapidly assess the gold purity.