In buying gold jewelery, is there a difference in the value of a 14kt
gram of gold versus a 18kt gram of gold? How could I tell the value in
terms of grams?
I would like to invest in gold jewelery and need this information.

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Request for Question Clarification by neurogeek-ga on 11 Jan 2006 14:50 PST

Are you asking about the percentage of gold in a gram of each item? 
Will the items be used as jewlery, or sold as metal?

I know that 18 karat gold contains* more gold than 14 karat gold.  It
should be softer, differently colored, and more expensive.  However,
when used as jewlery, there are other considerations than the absolute
amount of gold contained in the item.

*Assuming the samples are labelled correctly.

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Clarification of Question by perryparker-ga on 12 Jan 2006 07:19 PST

I'm asking about the percentage of gold in a gram in jewelery.

18 carat gold is 75% pure gold, 14 carat is 58.3%  (pure gold is 24 carat).
So one gram of 18 carat gold contains 3/4 of a gram of pure gold.

The color depends on the choice of other metal(s) in the alloy.

Neurogeek is entirely correct, the price of jewelry also depends on
the production costs and markup of the seller.  Look at this site:
http://www.goldenmine.com/index.asp?PageAction=VIEWPROD&ProdID=412

The 16 inch chain of 14 carat gold weighs 8 grams and has a price of $ 135.52.
8 grams is about 1/4 ounce.  The price of gold is about $550/ounce. 
So the chain has a gold content worth about 550/4 x 0.583  = ca $80.

IF you have to pay sales tax, the difference is greater.  Jewelry that
requires more workmanship to produce will be more expensive relative
to the gold content.

It is my understanding that 24 carat gold is "pure" gold...therefore,
14k gold contains 14/24, or 58.33% gold content.  So, if gold is $560
an ounce, then considering that there are 28.375 grams in an ounce,
each gram of gold would be worth
$560/28.375 = $19.73...so, if you had a 40 gram 14k gold bracelet, the
value would be figured this way: 40grams x .5833 = 23.332 grams of
"pure gold", which is 23.332/28.375 =.8223 oz. of "pure gold", x $560
an oz, = $460.47 worth of "pure" gold.

or, just multiply the 23.332 grams of pure gold by the aforementioned
$19.73 per gram value of pure gold, equally the same
number...$460.47...