GOLD IN OTHER COUNTRIES

Percentages of gold are related to karats in that 24-karat gold is 24 parts, or 100 percent gold. At the same time, you will never see 100 used, because 24-karat gold is considered to be only 99.99 or 99.96 percent pure. The extra refining to make gold 100 percent pure would make gold so expensive the price would be even more prohibitive than it already is.

The refining process is costly and time consuming. The ore is embedded in rock, and this rock must be crushed, treated, smelted, and otherwise treated in extensive processing to extract the gold and to separate it from such other minerals as silver, copper, and zinc with which it is often found. Even with the most modern refining technology, therefore, the purest gold is considered to be 99.99 percent gold. Gold traded in gold bars on the international money market may even be 99.6 percent pure.

When you consider that an average of 3 tons, or 6,000 pounds, of rock and ore may yield only 1 ounce of pure gold, you can understand why 99.9 percent or even 99.6 percent is more than acceptable as pure gold. There is the cost to consider, too.

Twenty-four-karat gold, nevertheless, is 24 parts gold, with the 24 parts being the "100" percent standard on which the other markings are based. These markings, which are commonly used in Europe and elsewhere in the world.

In short, in buying gold on your travels, you want to be careful v what is called gold and be sure to see-and understand-the markings. What is called gold in Great Britain, for example, may not be gold in the United States. What is gold in the United States may e gold in France or Italy.

You want to be wary for another reason. Not all countries, regardless of a minimum standard, are fussy about enforcing or insuring that the marking means what it says. Sellers may even mark the gold with any markings they choose, knowing that tourists will often snap up a "bargain." What you buy may not even be karat or real gold at all, but gold-plated.