How can gold be white

The rhodium plating commonly found on white gold jewelry protects the actual gold alloy from scratches. However, this plating itself scratches and does wear off after some time depending on how often the jewelry is worn, and the only way to restore the rhodium layer is to have the piece replated by a jeweler.

Perhaps you already know that the purity of regular yellow gold is measured in karats. This is also the case with white gold — the karat number of any gold jewelry has the same meaning regardless of what the alloy is composed of.

Some white gold alloys contain nickel, which can cause a rash if it comes in contact with the skin of a person allergic to the metal. Typically, the rhodium plating covering white gold jewelry will prevent your skin from being exposed to nickel, but when the rhodium wears off, touching the underlying alloy may give you a rash if you are allergic.

One way to avoid allergic reactions is to have your white gold jewelry timely replated with rhodium when it starts to wears off. Another solution is to avoid nickel-containing white gold altogether. For example, alloys made only with gold, palladium and silver are not allergenic. Rose gold is made of pure gold mixed with copper and silver alloys. The copper and silver helps to strengthen it and give it its rose color. The more copper used, the redder the gold appears. What does rose gold look like?

Rose gold encompasses the whole family of red, rose and pink gold shades. Does rose gold tarnish? But just like any color gold, rose gold jewelry needs to be polished and cleaned regularly. To learn more about the differences between types of gold, contact us. Pink gold, red gold and rose gold are nearly the same, with slight differences in composition and appearance.

Jewelry vendors and goldsmiths may use the three gold names interchangeably, but rose gold is most common, especially for engagement rings and other fine jewelry. All three golds have a lustrous, pinkish tone, like in this rose gold hidden halo ring from Blue Nile. For instance, the higher percentage of copper found in red gold makes it a slightly stronger rose color. The copper and silver alloys also strengthen the gold. You can see a collection of rose gold rings from James Allen here.

While the metal you choose for your diamond ring is largely based on personal preference and style, it is helpful to consider the main differences in composition and price.

White gold and platinum, for example, look identical to the naked eye, while platinum costs significantly more. We generally recommend spending more of your budget on the diamond than on a platinum setting. Shop for diamond engagement rings here. To put together the perfect ring, reach out to our experts who will help you find the highest quality diamonds along with a setting that will steal hearts and turn heads—all while staying in budget. Before you buy a diamond, get personal buying advice from industry veterans.

We'll help you get the best diamond for the money. We are a team of diamond experts who will teach you to identify scams and avoid spending money on features you can't see.

Tell us as much information as possible to help us help you ie, budget, preferences, etc. Deal Alert! Gold Offer This email will go to our contact at Abe Mor who has helped thousands of our readers sell their gold and diamond jewelry. Yes No. Accepted file types: jpg, gif, png, pdf, Max. This field is for validation purposes and should be left unchanged. Weight of Gold grams. Get an Offer. In all gold jewellery, pure gold has to be mixed with harder metals for added durability and strength.

This is because on its own, pure gold is a very soft metal. This is the case whether the jewellery is made from yellow gold, rose gold or white gold, because in any of these variations, gold on its own would be too soft. In white gold, additionally, the silvery-coloured alloys help to create the desired white colour.

Apart from the alloys mixed in with the pure gold, white gold jewellery is additionally coated in a precious metal known as rhodium. Rhodium comes from the same metal family as platinum. It adds further strength and durability, and importantly, a really lustrous white surface sheen — making it the ideal metal to coat and protect jewellery.

Over time, the rhodium coating on your white gold jewellery becomes worn, revealing the yellow gold colour underneath.

Is this normal? Usually, when the resulting alloy is used to make jewelry, it is covered with rhodium to give it an even whiter appearance. White gold is coated with rhodium, which gives the alloy its white color. We already know that white gold is plated with rhodium, but it can also be used to coat yellow gold and make it look white. So, if you take your gold ring or another piece to a jeweler, you can have it plated with rhodium for a fee.

Turning yellow gold white sound pretty easy, right? More: See a collection of popular white gold jewelry pieces. The biggest issue with rhodium plating is that you never know whether it will stick to the surface of the jewelry.