Ten carats The minimal carat weight for an object to be referred to be gold varies by jurisdiction. The legal minimum approved level of gold carat in the United States is 10 carat, with 14 carat being the most common. In France, the United Kingdom, Austria, Portugal, and Ireland, the lowest carat allowed to be labeled gold is 9 carat. In India, the gold standard requires that all jewelry be made from 100 percent gold, which means any percentage below 24K is not acceptable for sale here. Gold purity levels can only go up from there, so if you have jewelry that doesn't meet Indian standards, there's no way around it - you'll need to get it remade or replaced. The lowest karat rating possible for gold is 3.5%. Although this may sound low, it is actually higher than many people realize. Most gold coins and bars are tested at about 99.9% gold, which means they contain 0.1% silver. Coins below 50 years old may also contain zinc as a filler metal instead of silver. Older coins may also have traces of other metals such as lead, copper, and/or nickel. Jewelry has different requirements for quality and quantity of material used. For example, two 18-karat gold rings weighing one ounce each would use half the amount of gold per volume compared to one ring set entirely in 14K gold.