How to Spot Fake Gold Jewellery: 5 Easy Tests You Can Do at Home
Top Gold Team · 22 September 2025
None of these tests will give you a definitive answer on their own. What they will do is tell you whether something is worth bringing in for proper testing, or whether you can rule it out immediately.
1. Check for a hallmark
Real gold jewellery is almost always stamped with a purity mark: 9K, 14K, 18K, 375, 585, 750, and so on. Look on the inside of a ring band, near the clasp of a chain, or on the back of a pendant. No stamp at all is a warning sign, though older or handmade pieces sometimes genuinely lack one.
2. The magnet test
Gold isn’t magnetic. If a piece is strongly attracted to a magnet, it isn’t solid gold, though it could still be gold-plated over a magnetic base metal. This test rules things out quickly but doesn’t prove authenticity on its own, since some fakes use non-magnetic alloys.
3. Look for discolouration
Check spots that get the most wear: the underside of a ring, contact points on a bracelet clasp. If you see a different colour metal showing through, brassy yellow turning silvery, or a greenish tinge, that usually points to gold plating wearing off rather than solid gold.
4. The float test
Gold is dense. Drop the item in a glass of water. Real gold sinks and stays down. If it floats or hovers, that’s inconsistent with solid gold, though this test can damage pieces with glued stones or delicate settings, so use it carefully or skip it on anything valuable-looking.
5. The skin test
Some people notice their skin turns green or black when wearing certain metals, a reaction more common with cheaper alloys than with genuine gold. It’s not foolproof (some people react to gold too, particularly higher-karat gold mixed with certain alloys) but a strong, consistent reaction is worth noting.
Why these tests aren’t the final word
Home tests are useful for catching obvious fakes, but they can’t tell you the karat, and they can be fooled by well-made plated pieces. The only reliable way to know for certain is XRF testing, which reads the metal’s actual elemental composition without damaging the item. We run this test on every piece that comes through our doors, and we do it in front of you so you can see the result yourself.
Not sure about a piece? Bring it in for a free XRF test, no obligation to sell. Contact us or visit our Ryde store.