link between its composition and its yellowing

While everyone knows about yellow gold, the natural color of gold, few know that white gold was only invented in the early 19th century. So much so that doubts persist about its composition, its price and the techniques for recognizing white gold compared to other precious metals.

White gold is currently the most popular of all gold colors, especially for engagement rings and wedding bands.

This photo shows a lily pendant made of raw foundry white gold on the left, a blue diamond engagement ring in the center, and pieces of pure 24k gold on the right

INDEX

The composition of white gold

White gold is an alloy composed of fine gold, pure yellow gold that you know well, with other metals that will give it a white/grey color.

The only information available about the white gold in your ring will be the gold grade, given by the jewelery hallmark, of 9, 14 or 18 carats, which indicates the proportion of pure gold present in the jewellery.

An 18k (or 750/1000) white gold ring is made up of 75% pure gold.

But what about the other metals related to gold? Well, we don’t know!!

White gold alloys are made according to some recipes that can vary, from mixtures of commercial metals and some more or less secret, depending on the jeweler or company in question.

Here are some examples of known white gold alloys:

• Composition of 20 carat white gold (833/1000): 83.3% Fine Gold + 16.7%% Palladium
• Composition of 18k white gold (750/1000): 75% Fine Gold + 18.5% Silver + 1% Copper + 5.5% Zinc
• Composition of 14 carat white gold (583/1000): 58.3% Fine Gold + 17% Silver + 17% Copper + 7.7% Zinc
• Composition of 9 carat white gold (375/1000): 37.5% Fine Gold + 62.5% Silver

French lawCcomfortable and international is very strict regarding compliance with the gold content announced by the pointCwe have jewels, but nothing is done to provide information on the composition of the gold alloy.

Some gold alloys tend to give the gold a light gray or yellowish gray tint, while others give it a more pronounced gray-white color.

In this image we see yellow gold on the left, in the center the alloy of various metals used to obtain white gold from yellow gold, and on the right 14 karat white gold. We note the gray tending to yellow color of this alloy.

The cost and toxicity involved.

We can therefore make white gold with some metals related to yellow gold.

Palladium and nickel are metals that give yellow gold a white color.

Yes, but here it is.

Palladium is as expensive as or more than gold and nickel very often causes allergic reactions to the skin, so much so that its use was banned or limited in France by decree of 18 July 2000.

So, for cost and health reasons, white gold is generally made from hypoallergenic and economical metals. So much so that the white gold alloy eventually tends towards yellow.

18k white gold ring directly from the foundry. We note the white color of the gold in its raw state, without polishing and without rhodium, a sign of the quality of the white gold alloy used.

The use of rhodium

Since white gold is not that white, it is rhodium plated to give it a truly white look.

For that?

Well white gold is never white and shiny like rhodium, we have become accustomed in jewelery to depositing a plating on the metal of the ring giving a better visual effect.

In fact, rhodium is so brilliant that on a diamond ring it is difficult to distinguish the shine of diamond from that of rhodium at a distance.

Please note that platinum is also sometimes used instead of rhodium. These two metals are both part of the same metal group and have similar properties.

Why does white gold turn yellow?

You will have understood, the yellowing of your white gold ring is not due to dirt or the gold that is aging but to the rhodium (or platinum) plating of your ring that is fading.

Impact, friction, and wear and tear on your ring tears off microscopic pieces of your ring’s rhodium coating, revealing its natural gold color.

The solution to the yellowing of your ring will therefore consist in taking it to your jeweler who, after having cleaned and polished the jewel, will redeposit a layer of rhodium on it, so as to regain its new appearance.

How to recognize it?

It is not possible to recognize white gold in the strict sense.

In fact, since the external color of the jewel is due to a surface coating, it is impossible to visually recognize white gold. Rhodium plated silver will have the same color as rhodium plated gold.

You can test your jewelry to see if it is gold and measure the fineness of its gold. I refer you to this article which explains how to proceed.

What is its price?

It is difficult for me to give you a figure as the price of white gold varies depending on the price of gold at the time the jewelry is valued and the quality of the white gold that makes up the jewelry.

For the same weight, a 14k white gold ring will not have the same value as an 18k gold ring since the gold content of the latter is higher.

To price your white gold jewelry you will need to determine the gold grade of your jewelry, provided using the dotCwe have engraved it and inform you about the current price of gold.

You will therefore have to turn to companies specialized in purchasing gold who will certainly buy it back from you at a price lower than that of gold, given that they will have to rework your gold.

To find out the ongoing price of gold, you can search today’s price online.

To go further: