All about 385 gold: composition, properties, demand in the USA and Europe, sample status in Russia, areas of application, cost and recommendations, how to choose and how to clean

“Win not with strength, but with weakness!” – these words, I believe, can best describe 385 gold. Low cost, high reliability and quality have led to the fact that this marking has become very common these days. The cost of products made from this precious alloy does not burden the pocket, remaining affordable in all social spheres. In the western part of the world, precious metals of low grade are even more popular, and the explanation for such a high demand is that, in addition to the excellent strength of the metal and wear resistance, jewelry can be tinted, making it white, red or yellow.

Sample 385: demand in Russia and abroad

In Russia, the 385 sample did not win the love of the public. Our compatriots, even those who are absolutely far from the jewelry theme, are more likely to choose 585 standard. It is widespread and for some reason is considered “real gold” in Russia.

In Europe, things are different. The demand for 385 alloy among ordinary people is high, and famous jewelry houses willingly use it to create collections.

Gold ring with stone

Advantages and disadvantages

An obvious advantage of 385 gold is its low price. Youth option: a student does not always have money for an expensive gift, but he wants to surprise his beloved. 385 earrings are suitable as the first piece of jewelry for a girl who already wants to wear gold, but is not yet ready to carefully care for it.

Due to the high strength of the alloy, you can use it to create jewelry with subtle ornaments or miniature protruding elements and not be afraid that they will deform when worn.

It’s convenient to experiment with inexpensive gold, which is why there are a lot of eye-catching designer jewelry made from it on sale - for example, like the one in the photo:

I will dwell on the negative aspects in more detail, leaving you to decide whether these are shortcomings or just features.

An alloy with a high copper content darkens. Copper oxidizes - it’s stupid to deny it. But even copper jewelry is worn for years, and with proper care it does not lose its grace. And gold is much more wear-resistant!

A cheap chain is a bad investment. This is true. But investments in jewelry, even of high standard, are not justified. A chain is a good investment only if it is an antique or rarity, a collectible item that has no analogues on the market. Otherwise, it will not be possible to realize it profitably.

Jewelry of 385 standard cannot be passed on by inheritance. It is truth too. However, what of what remains from our grandmothers do we wear? In 20–30 years, the set will lose its relevance and become old-fashioned, and our grandchildren will buy new gold - the one that is in trend.

Sample value 385: composition, properties and type of mark

385 alloy is equal to 9 carats, and the share of pure gold in the entire precious metal is 38.5%. The remainder comes from various impurities, such as copper, silver, palladium or zinc.

Due to the low gold content, jewelry made from this alloy is hard and durable. They can be subjected to more intensive polishing. However, the alloy is weakly resistant to corrosion.

The stamp on the jewelry depicts not only the imprint of numbers corresponding to the sample, but also a design individual for each country of origin. This is a state hallmark, a special mark, the minting of which is carried out by the state inspection. The presence of such a mark is proof that the sample of the product is not lower than that indicated on the mark.

On the territory of Russia, such a mark is the profile of a woman in a headdress, turned to the left.

385 gold ring

Palette of shades

Jewelry marked 385 can have several colors:

• yellow;
• red;
• pink.

It is difficult to find products with a similar sample that will have a white color. In most cases, hallmarks 375 and 385 are so-called red gold. But you can buy jewelry in classic yellow color.

Today, pink and red jewelry are in particular demand because of their unusual nature. During the Soviet era, wedding rings, which were also made from an alloy of copper and gold, had this shade.

Jewelry made from red gold:

1. Rings and earrings.
2. Bracelets and chains.
3. Watches and other accessories.
4. Necklaces and pendants.

You can find any products made of precious metal marked 385. The jewelry is massive, but light, refined and spectacular. Some celebrities prefer these types of products because they can be easily replaced.

How to identify fake or hallmarked gold yourself

It is not possible to find out an exact sample at home. You can only find out an approximate value. For an ideal result, you will need to contact a gold buyer or state assay inspectors.

However, you can check gold for authenticity at home. The following methods exist:

1. Use lapis, a product containing silver nitrates. Wet the jewelry and trace it with a lapis pencil. There will be no dark marks left on real gold.
2. Try holding the jewelry to a magnet. Real gold is almost not attracted, which cannot be said about low-grade metal and gold-plated products.
3. Carefully move the product over the ceramic coating. There should be no streaks left on the surface.
4. You can try leaving a shallow scratch on the inner surface of the product. If metal of a different shade is visible, then the jewelry is only gilded and is a fake.
5. Observe the reaction when applying gold chloride to the product. If there are no changes, it is gold 585 or higher. Blackening will indicate low-quality metal or a fake.

Definition of counterfeit gold jewelry

Important differences between 385 and 585

• Price . The price of the product directly depends on the pure gold contained in the alloy. Therefore, 385 sample will be significantly inferior in price to 585, which contains 58.5% pure precious metal.
• Strength. Gold is a very soft metal. Consequently, the more of it there is in a product, the more unstable it is to external negative factors. 385 gold has a high level of strength due to the increased content of alloy.
• Corrosion resistance. 585 test is much more resistant to chemical destruction. 385 gold is susceptible to corrosion to a significant extent, so it is strongly recommended to wipe the product after contact with water.
• Care. Due to its high copper base content, 385 alloy may begin to darken and tarnish over time. It requires regular maintenance, while the 585 alloy loses its visual appeal much more slowly.

What kind of sample is this

It is difficult to meet our compatriot wearing gold of a purity lower than 585. Russia produces jewelry of 375 purity, but they are unpopular, despite the affordable price (about 1.5 times cheaper than “classic” gold). In the USSR, the 583 standard was mainly used: alloys with a precious metal content of less than 50% of the total mass were used only in watch cases and fountain pens, and occasionally in the manufacture of wedding rings.

But in the USA and Europe, low-grade gold is popular. Famous designers, not accustomed to restrictions, choose it to create jewelry along with 750 standard. True, low-grade metal is used to make mostly everyday items, rather than holiday ones.

Composition and properties

In the metric hallmark system, the number 385 means that 38.5% of the alloy is gold. Everything else is a ligature (impurity). Which ones specifically and how much depends on what qualities the jeweler wanted to endow the product with. The lower the standard, the lighter the decoration will be - this is important for massive chains and earrings.

They also use ligatures to change color: copper gives gold a red tint, and silver, palladium, and nickel lighten it and make it cooler.

Strength

Gold is a soft metal. We do not wear jewelry made of pure gold, not only because of their high cost, but also because such a ring or pendant is easily dented and scratched. 999.9 purity gold is stored in safe deposit boxes (but even there it sometimes gets wrinkled).

The more alloying components in an alloy, the stronger it is. 750 standard is inferior in strength to 585, which, in turn, is inferior to low-grade gold. It happens that a high-grade bracelet or chain has a low-grade lock to make it more difficult to break during use.

Alloy shade chart

The low content of base metal in the alloy allows the jeweler to combine impurities in different ways, expanding the color gamut.

In Russian jewelry production, 385 standard is not used, so let’s look at the ratio of shades and ligature using the example of a close 375 standard, corresponding to GOST R 51152–98.

Brand

Sample 375 is considered the lowest in Russia (in Europe there is another 333 - 8 carats). However, according to the law, products made from any alloy with a noble metal content of at least 30% must be hallmarked. Jewelry has been hallmarked for three centuries, and hallmarking standards have changed many times since then. It is difficult to understand the encryption, but an experienced appraiser can use the mark to determine the century, decade, and sometimes even the year of production of the jewelry.

Let me give you a couple of examples:

• if the stamp is the head of a worker with a hammer, and the last digit of the year appears after the company code, it means that the item was produced in the USSR in the period 1953–1958;
• if there are two vertical dots before the last digit of the year of manufacture in the nameplate, it means that the product was created in the RSFSR or the Russian Federation in the 1990s.

Nowadays precious metals are branded with the profile of a lady in a kokoshnik (face turned to the right).

How many carats are in this sample (sample correspondence table)

The carat system does not imply fractional values, and for metric samples there is a maximum deviation from the face value - remedium (sometimes only positive is allowed). For example, for the 583 sample the remedium is 3 points, which almost equals it with the 585 sample. Therefore, similar metric samples in the karat system are designated by the same number. It looks like this:

Where can I buy 385 gold

Products made from this alloy are sold in specialized jewelry stores, pawn shops, on Internet sites and auctions. You definitely shouldn’t buy gold in private.

385 alloy products

Cost of 1 gram of gold. Calculation of the price of 385 samples from the stock exchange to the pawnshop

The average market price in stores for a gram of 385 alloy today is 1,200 rubles.

If you look at the website of the Central Bank of the Russian Federation exchange, you can see a slightly different picture: in 2021, the price per gram ranged from 1390 to 1450 rubles.

The pawn shop always accepts jewelry at a price much lower than the market price. For 385 gold purity, the price per gram varies around 400-500 rubles. The capital's pawnshops offer the highest prices for purchases.

1 gram gold

Who is doing the buying?

Pawnshops buy items made from 385 standard. They are guided by the official exchange rate established by the Central Bank of the Russian Federation, but at the same time, each such institution sets its own purchase price.

If you clean and polish the item before visiting the pawnshop, you have a chance to get a large sum for it. Private buyers can also accept such products.

Why you need to be careful with imports

There is a danger for the buyer to encounter counterfeits when purchasing imports. There are no signs on imported products that can be used to find out information about the manufacturer. The mark on such jewelry is three numbers indicating the sample, without a frame.

We advise you to approach the purchase of imports with special care and check the alloys in jewelry for authenticity.

Gold jewelry

Briefly about sample systems

At the moment, there are several gold assay systems:

• carat;
• spool;
• lot;
• metric.

The karate testing system is used, as a rule, in some countries of Western Europe, the USA and Canada. Its basis is the unit for assessing purity - the carat, equal to 1/24 of the mass of the pure substance.

The spool system, popular until 1927, is based on the value of the Russian pound, which contains 96 spools - a measure of pure gold.

Sample designation systems

The lot system is based on a stamp popular in Scandinavian countries, containing 16 lots. Thus, the value of 16 lots is over 0.999 of the weight of the alloy, which is the metal in its pure form.

Since 1927, domestic jewelers have adopted the metric system, which involves several standard standards - 375, 585, 750 and 999. Based on it, the measure of precious metal is determined by the number of grams in one kilogram of the alloy, i.e. 585 standard means that 1000 g of precious alloy contains 585 g of pure gold, and the rest is the addition of other metals, i.e. alloy.

Pros and cons of low-grade gold

Low-grade precious metal has positive and negative features. Let's take a closer look at them.

The clear advantages include:

low cost;

increased wear resistance, difficult to deform;

Due to the fact that low-grade precious metal is easy to experiment with, there is a large selection of designer jewelry on the market.

The disadvantages include the following parameters:

such metal is not suitable as a savings investment;

the alloy tends to darken.

Gold for every day. Tips for caring for and wearing gold 385

Any piece of jewelry must be protected from harsh chemicals, alloy 385 is no exception. Avoid contact of jewelry with alkaline reagents, chlorine, cosmetics, and solvents. Before cleaning and washing dishes, be sure to remove rings or use rubber gloves.

Low-grade precious metal is prone to darkening, so it needs to be looked after regularly.

Gold rings on your hand
To clean your jewelry, we recommend using special pastes and wipes, which can be purchased at a jewelry store. You can also use soap solution and ammonia.

Don't forget about polishing. A well-maintained product always looks more advantageous.

For polishing, you can use GOI paste; after the procedure, the product is rubbed with felt. Also, regular natural toothpaste without fluoride and sulfates is suitable for such purposes.

Does real gold darken?

Pure gold is bright yellow and does not tend to darken. But we rarely encounter it in life, so we are faced with the darkening of our favorite jewelry. The higher the alloy metal content, the higher the likelihood that our ring or necklace will change color. To prevent this from happening, you must remember to clean them.

Why do gold items turn your fingers black?

Imprints on the body remain due to the reaction of the ligature to the skin and sweat, as well as under the influence of third-party substances - for example, bathing water (soapy, salty) or cosmetics. The more impurities in the ring, the higher the likelihood of becoming the owner of a black rim around your finger.

To avoid traces from jewelry, it is recommended to remove it during water procedures and sports.

Appearance of gold streaks

If you run metal over the skin of your hand or face, dark stripes may remain on it. The reason is the same as in the case of fingers: the consequences of contact of the ligature with biological fluids, salts and cosmetics.

This is no reason to worry - the marks are washed off in seconds with water and regular soap.

Customer Reviews

My wife and I purchased 385 gold wedding rings almost 20 years ago. We wear them every day almost without taking them off, and they look like new. There are no scratches or dents on the metal. My wife sometimes cleans the rings with alcohol lotion, and that’s where all product care ends. Considering that we wear the rings on our “working” right hand, we are very pleased with the quality.

Nikita R., Norilsk

Nikolay L., Stavropol

We bought a house in the village and found a gold ring when we were sorting through things left over from the previous owners. There used to be a stone in the decoration, but now only an empty nest remains. We decided to take it to a pawn shop. There they accepted the ring as scrap, it turned out to be 385 gold, and they made very little money from it.

I decided to buy a souvenir figurine as an anniversary gift for a friend. Coating - 385 standard. The gift looks expensive, but it was much cheaper than if a higher grade had been used for the coating. The hero of the day was pleased with everything, so my review will be positive.

Roman D. g, Murmansk

How to choose jewelry

It is recommended to make purchases in trusted jewelry stores. Check the surface of the product and the certificate.

In Turkey, China, Egypt, it is recommended to buy gold with caution. A hallmark for jewelry in these countries is not necessary, and cheap alloys are sold under the guise of 375.

In conclusion, we note that the 375th is unpopular in Russia; the 585th is preferred to it. In the USSR, three hundred and seventy-five were made into items for everyday wear - watch bracelets, wedding rings, earrings.

The test is popular in the USA and Europe and is used by youth jewelry brands.

The price for 375 depends on the market value and instructions from the Central Bank of Russia. Pawnshops buy the alloy from 500 rubles per gram. A product in poor condition will cost less.

Among the disadvantages of the 375 are:

• loss of attractiveness:
• the need for regular cleaning;
• allergies and black spots on the skin;
• low liquidity.

Advantages:

• price;
• wear resistance;
• strength;
• the author's work does not differ in appearance from the 585th.

It is not recommended to purchase 375 in Egypt and Turkey, where they sell cheap alloy for a high price.

Store jewelry in bags or boxes with soft walls in a cool, dark place. Clean regularly with special products or ammonia. Avoid contact of the surface of the product with sweat, cosmetics, and cleaning products. Dangerous are acid, alkali, acetone, solvents, and sea water.