Use a magnet as a quick first-pass gold screening test. Check the main body and the findings separately, understand what magnetic attraction can tell you, and avoid treating a negative magnet response as proof of authenticity.
Record the response and see what it means.
A non-magnetic response is compatible with gold but also with many other materials. Strong attraction is a warning sign, not a complete diagnosis.
Pure gold is not attracted to an ordinary permanent magnet. That makes magnetic attraction useful as a quick screening clue. However, many non-gold materials are also non-magnetic, so the absence of attraction is not enough to establish authenticity.
Copper, brass and many stainless or other non-gold materials can show little or no attraction. A plated item can therefore pass a magnet test even when the underlying material is not solid gold.
For a valuable item, combine the magnet result with hallmark inspection, density or specific-gravity testing, and professional analytical testing when the value justifies it.
Pure gold is not attracted to an ordinary magnet.
No.
It suggests magnetic metal is present somewhere in the tested item.
The main gold alloy should not show strong attraction, although findings can contain other metals.
Use several independent clues and consider professional XRF or another suitable analytical test for valuable pieces.