How To Check If Gold Is Real With Vinegar?

Did you know you can test gold with vinegar? If you have a piece of gold, you must be questioning its authenticity. Well, here’s an easy and quick way to test gold. Here, we’re going to tell you how to check if gold is real with vinegar. Along with some useful tips.

What is White Vinegar?

White vinegar is a combination of acetic acid and water. It is a versatile acidic solution that is used for many different tasks. One of the tasks is checking whether god is real or not. Vinegar is mildly corrosive in nature. But it will not harm real gold in any way because real gold is resistant to corrosion. This makes vinegar a perfect way to test your gold’s authenticity. Some people use other types of vinegar to test gold like apple cider vinegar. But we recommend white vinegar. White vinegar is stronger and gives obvious results. It is a great gold tester.

White vinegar is a common household item. But because of its acidic nature, it must be handled correctly. Use eye protection, gloves, or a long-sleeve shirt. If it gets spilled on your skin, wash it off immediately.

How To Check If Gold Is Real With Vinegar?

The vinegar test is an easy way to test gold at home. It is a kind of acid test and has two variations. Both of the processes are given below. Choose wisely!

#1

What Do You Need:

• A Glass Bowl
• White Vinegar
• Water
• Gold Sample
• A Soft Cloth

Process:

How to tell if gold is real with vinegar? The vinegar test is the easiest way to test if gold is real or fake. Following are the steps for the vinegar test:

• Pour enough vinegar into the glass bowl to submerge the gold piece you’re going to test.
• Clean your gold item with a soft cloth to remove any kind of dirt or debris.
• Place your gold item in the bowl.
• Leave it in the vinegar for at least 15 minutes.
• After that, take it out and rise it thoroughly with running water.
• Wipe and clean it with a clean piece of cloth.
• Look for any signs of discoloration.

Precaution: If you want to test the authenticity of gold without damaging it, you should not place it in vinegar. If your gold piece is fake, it can get damaged by placing it in vinegar.

#2

Sometimes you have a delicate gold jewelry piece that you need to check. But you want to test your gold piece without getting it damaged. In this case, the following variation is a more suitable way to tell if your piece is made of gold or not.

What Do You Need:

• White Vinegar
• Dropper
• Water
• Gold in Question
• A Soft Cloth

Process:

If you don’t want your gold item to get damaged:

• Make a small scratch on your gold piece. If it’s a jewelry item, make sure the scratch is on the back side of it.
• Add 2 to 3 drops of white vinegar with the dropper on the scratch. Don’t spill it all over.
• Leave it there for 15 minutes and wait. 
• After that, rinse it under cool running water.
• Vinegar can stay in contact after washing. Clean it thoroughly with the help of a soft cloth. Don’t leave any traces of the vinegar.

Note: If you can’t find a dropper, you can also pour some vinegar onto your gold’s surface. But you need to be careful.

Results of The Vinegar Test:

After performing this gold test, you need to look for any color changes in your gold piece.

• If it retains its color and lustrous shine, it is authentic gold. 
• If it changes color and gets dark, it’s not real gold.

Vinegar changes the color of metals that are not real gold. You may see black or green color on fake gold bars. It can also damage fake gold jewelry. Different karats of gold have different reactions to vinegar. Most of the jewelry pieces are made of 10K or 18K. That is not pure gold. If you place them in vinegar, it can lead to permanent discoloration or damage.

Gold is a stable metal. Real gold doesn’t react to vinegar. Gold is also resistant to acetic acid, which is the key acid in vinegar. If your jewelry is made of real gold, it will not change its color. Rather vinegar cleans the gold and makes it shiny. When gold will not turn black, you’ll know it’s real. Mixing real gold with white vinegar is one of the best methods for testing gold. Vinegar will not harm gold in any way and real gold will not change color.

If there is a gold plate on your gold piece, the thin layer of gold comes off when you make a scratch. And when you add some drops of vinegar to that scratch, the underneath metal that is not gold will show discoloration.

If your piece is made of iron pyrite or chalcopyrite, it may retain its color. But you will notice crystals when it gets in contact with vinegar. There might be a bad smell too. 

If your piece is weathered mica, vinegar will remove the iron staining that gives it the look of authentic gold. Vinegar is a mild solution. So, this might be difficult to notice.

Is the Vinegar Test Reliable for Testing Gold?

Well, of course, yes! The vinegar test is a totally reliable test for gold. In fact, vinegar is used to clean the real gold. It doesn’t harm real gold in any way. Rather it cleans any grime or dirt away. This test can help you get a better idea about the authenticity of your gold.

But this test should not be performed for white gold. White gold is made by mixing real gold with white metals. These metals will be affected by vinegar.

Conclusion:

Measure the purity of gold with vinegar. We hope you got everything about How to check if Gold is real with vinegar. This test can help you avoid buying fake gold jewelry. You can tell the difference between gold and other metals. The current market value of gold is pretty high. You need to avoid the gold dealers selling fake gold bars. There are many different ways to test and see if your gold is real. You can explore them here:

Keep Reading: How to Check If Gold is Real With a Lighter & 18 Other Methods