We test gold every day — on camera, in front of the customer, hundreds of thousands of people watch it happen on our TikTok. Fake chains cross our counter constantly, and most of them would fool an honest person, because they are built to pass the easy checks. Here are the tests we actually use, in the order we use them, and where each one can lie to you.
1. Read the stamp — then distrust it
Real gold jewelry is usually stamped: 10K (or 417), 14K (585), 18K (750), 22K (916), 24K (999), often near the clasp. No stamp is a warning sign on modern jewelry. But here is the part most guides skip: counterfeiters stamp fakes too. A crisp "14K" stamp on a brass chain costs them nothing. Treat the stamp as a claim to verify, never as proof.
Also know the fine print: GP (gold plated), GF (gold filled), HGE (heavy gold electroplate), and 1/20 markings all mean the piece is mostly not gold — honest markings, but a very different value.
2. The magnet test — quick, cheap, and easily beaten
Gold is not magnetic. If a strong magnet grabs the chain, it is not solid gold — done. But if it does not stick, you know almost nothing: brass, copper, and many plated base metals are not magnetic either. The magnet only catches lazy fakes.
3. Weight and feel — the pawnbroker's instinct
Gold is dense — nearly twice as dense as brass. A solid gold chain has a heft that surprises people, and hollow or plated chains feel light for their size. Two chains, same length and thickness, very different weight: the light one is hollow, plated, or fake. This instinct takes handling a lot of gold to build, which is exactly why the final word belongs to instruments, not fingers.
4. Look at the wear points
Plating rubs off where the chain lives against skin and clothing: clasp ends, link edges, the back of pendants. Look for a different color metal peeking through — gray, coppery, or silvery under the gold tone. Greenish skin under a chain after wearing is another classic plated-jewelry tell.
5. Acid testing — the classic karat check
A tiny scratch sample plus karat-graded acid tells you whether the surface is real gold and roughly what karat. It is reliable in trained hands — and it is a surface test. A thick gold plate over tungsten or brass can pass a careless acid test. That is why professionals scratch deep enough to get below any plating, and why acid is a confirmation tool rather than the whole answer.
6. Electronic testing — what we put our name on
We verify gold with Sigma electronic testing — it reads the metal's electrical response through the piece, not just the surface, which is what catches good plating jobs and filled chains. It is fast, does not damage the jewelry, and it is the verification named on every listing in our store. Labs and refiners go a step further with XRF analyzers that read exact composition; different tool, same principle: measure the metal, not the story.
The rule that beats every test
If the price is far below melt value, ask why. Gold has a live, public spot price — nobody sells real 14K at a 70% discount out of a car trunk. Work out what a chain is worth in raw gold before you buy or sell: karat, weight in grams, live spot. Our gold calculator does that math in seconds.
DD Pawn Loans is a licensed Florida pawnbroker. Questions about a specific piece? Call or text (561) 774-9292.