What does 916 gold mean?
916 refers to fineness: 916 parts of pure gold per 1,000 parts of metal, or approximately 91.6% gold purity. It is the millesimal equivalent of 22 karat (22 ÷ 24 = 0.9166…), so "916 gold" and "22K gold" describe the same alloy. The remaining 8.4% is typically copper and silver, added to make the metal hard enough for daily wear.
Thai gold jewellery is traditionally 96.5% pure (23.04K) — a unique national standard between 22K and 24K. It is sold by "baht weight" (one baht of gold ≈ 15.244 grams), with shops in Bangkok's Yaowarat district quoting buy and sell prices for both ornament and bar gold.