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.
In China, most gold jewellery is sold as 足金 (zú jīn, "full gold"), which is 999 fine — effectively 24K — rather than the 22K/916 standard common in Southeast Asia. Retailers quote a daily gold price in yuan per gram plus a per-gram workmanship fee.