Pick 18K for color. It is three quarters pure gold, so its yellow runs deeper than 14K, but the metal is softer and shows marks sooner. Wear it on a chain or a pendant, and choose 14K for a ring that takes knocks every day. Every title here that names a build says solid, and the grams on a listing tell you how heavy it will sit.
18K gold: how pure 18k gold is, and what the 750 stamp means
18K is 18 parts pure gold in 24, three quarters of the metal. The 750 stamp counts the same gold in thousandths, and some pieces carry it inside a band or by a clasp. Ask the desk to check it on the piece you want. In yellow 18K the rest is mostly silver and copper, for strength and shade. The titles name 18K on all but a handful of pieces, and none says plated. Most pieces come in yellow, and nearly every pendant and ring is also offered in white or rose.
18K vs 14K: is 18k gold better than 14k for men, and the other karats
For color, 18K wins, and for hard wear, 14K does. At 58.3 percent gold, 14K is paler and harder, so a knock that marks 18K often leaves 14K clean. 10K is paler and tougher still. Gold is far denser than the silver and copper beside it, so more karat means more weight. Match two solid Miami Cubans by width, and the 18K one weighs about a sixth more than the 14K one on men's 14K gold. Against men's 10K gold, the gap grows to about a third.
What to buy: pendants, chains and diamond earrings in 18k gold for men
Put 18K where its color shows and knocks are few, on the chest or the ear more than the hand. Diamond earrings sold most in the year, and most of them are also in our women's listings. Pendants came second, mostly crosses and Stars of David. The chains run heavy, and most of them are solid Miami Cubans 10 mm and wider, made to be seen from across a room. For an everyday chain, start lighter, near 7 mm, the narrowest Cuban here.
By kind: rings, pendants, chains, bracelets, earrings and watches in 18k gold
The kind pages go further than this one. Sizes and bands are covered on men's gold rings. For crosses and the chain that carries one, see men's gold pendants. Link styles and chain lengths are set out on men's gold chains, and the Cubans have a page of their own. A bracelet's width and length are on men's gold bracelets. Backs and carats sit with men's gold diamond earrings. No watch here can be sent back, so settle any doubt before you buy one. The live chat answers, and so does a text to 212-872-9692, picked up by a person from 10 AM ET.