Culture Shock! Egypt - A Survival Guide to Customs and Etiquette

The Logistics of Settling In 189

The purity of gold articles is generally described in three
ways: by percentage, in fineness and in karats. The following
table shows how one compares with the others.

Percentage

(Parts of Gold

per 100)

Fineness

(Parts of Gold

per 1,000)

Karats

(Parts of Gold

per 24)

100 per cent 999 Fine 24 Karats

91.70 per cent 917 Fine 22 Karats

75.00 per cent 750 Fine 18 Karats

58.50 per cent 583 Fine 14 Karats

41.60 per cent 416 Fine 10 Karats

Gold Conversion

Avoirdupois Weight (American)

„ 1 grain (gr) = 64.79891 mg

„ 1 dram (dr) = 27.34375 gr =^1 / 16 oz 5 1.772 g

„ 1 ounce (oz) = 16 dr = 437.5 gr 5 28.35 g

„ 1 pound (lb) = 16 oz = 7,000 gr = 453.59237 g

„ 1 hundredweight (cwt) = 100 lb = 45.359 kg

„ 1 ton (t) = 20 cwt = 2,000 lb = 907.18474 kg 5 0.907 t

Troy Weight

The grain has the same defi nition as for Avoirdupois weight.

„ 1 pennyweight (dwt) = 24 gr 5 1.555 g

„ 1 ounce troy (oz t) = 20 dwt = 480 gr 5 31.103 g

„ 1 pound troy (lb t) = 12 oz t = 5760 gr 5 373.242 g

Duty-free Shopping

Before leaving the airport, most people stop in the duty-free
shops for last minute purchases. A less well-known aspect of
duty-free shopping in Egypt is that there are several branches
of Egypt Free Shops in the country. People entering the
country are allowed to purchase products at these shops for
up to one month after entering Egypt. Some items are good
value and others can be bought less expensively at many of
the local shops. It just depends on what you are looking for.