How to chose the right metal for your wedding or engagement ring
Gold is a natural yellow metal that is alloyed with other metals to make it look white. Traditionally, these alloys have not been able to bleach the gold completely giving the final product a faint yellow hue. This is normally means that white gold jewelry has to be plated to look white, but not anymore.
Why White Gold Turns Yellow, Star White Gold, Arden Jewelers, White Gold Jewelry, Engagement Ring, Platinum, Yellow Gold Jewelry, Rhodium Plating
Some Basics About Gold
Is all gold the same? Gold used in jewelry like wedding rings can come in many forms. Basic to understand the uses of gold in jewelry is karat. Karat with a K is the purity of gold, Carat with a C is a measure of weight use mostly in gem weight ( one carat is 1/5 gram). Karated gold used in engagement rings can be from 100% gold to as low as 37% gold. Gold karated grade is used to express the proportion of gold in an alloy or the quality of a gold alloy. Fine gold (pure) is 24 karat. The proportions in other karat grades are listed in the table below:
Different Colors of Gold
Gold is yellow metal but adding copper to gold makes it redder and adding silver, zinc and any other metal makes gold paler. The white color is achieved by a careful choice of the alloying metals, which bleach the deep yellow of pure gold. It is interesting to note that white gold for engagement ring and wedding jewelry was originally developed in the 1920's as a substitute for platinum. Nowadays, they are jewelry metals in their own right and currently very fashionable and desirable. White gold is available up to 21 karats. Most engagement rings are 14k or 18k. White gold is often used to enhance diamonds and other gemstones.Gold is a natural yellow metal that is alloyed with other metals to make it look white. Traditionally, these alloys have not been able to bleach the gold completely giving the final product a faint yellow hue. This is normally means that white gold jewelry has to be plated to look white, but not anymore.
The Problem with White Gold
For several years, white gold, even in the best mixture, had a hint of yellow. Some manufactures of white gold look light yellow and never achieve the white look. It does not sound like a big problem because if you don’t like the light yellow look, of a specific manufacture then don’t buy it. New white gold rings are usually coated with a hard protective finish of rhodium, a silver-white metal like platinum. The rhodium plating is used to make the white gold look more white. The Rhodium is very white and very hard, but it does wear away eventually. When the rhodium wears away the quality of the white gold is seen for the first time.
White gold jewelry can be recoated with rhodium every time it starts to look yellowish, but that can be a time consuming and expensive process for consumers.
The New White Gold
Metallurgist have been steadily improving the techniques and formulas used in making white gold. This has lead to alloys of gold that are closer to pure white than was possible before. As alloys of white gold have improved, they have begun to be classified into different grades based on how purely white they are. The White Gold Task Force created a system for classifying the "whiteness" that has 3 grades:
What is immediately striking about this table is that there are now alloys of white gold that fall into the "Grade 1" category and therefore do not need to be plated. This is a significant improvement over "Grade 2 and 3" alloys which will likely still be plated. Why? Because, now, the jewelry consumer doesn't have to guess what his/her jewelry will look like in 6 months when the plating wears off. "Grade 1" white gold does not need to be plated and so it will look just as white in 10 years as it did the day it was purchased (unless, of course, its dirty).
The Bottom Line on White Gold
White metal jewelry is fashionable these days and it can be very elegant and beautiful. The sad truth used to be that if you wanted your jewelry to remain brilliantly white you would have to pay more than triple the cost of gold jewelry to get platinum. Now, with the emergence of Star White and other "Grade 1" white gold alloys that don't need to be plated, jewelry buyers can get stylish white jewelry that will stay white throughout its entire life at a fraction of the cost of platinum.
Gold is a natural yellow metal that is alloyed with other metals to make it look white. Traditionally, these alloys have not been able to bleach the gold completely giving the final product a faint yellow hue. This is normally means that white gold jewelry has to be plated to look white, but not anymore.
Why White Gold Turns Yellow, Star White Gold, Arden Jewelers, White Gold Jewelry, Engagement Ring, Platinum, Yellow Gold Jewelry, Rhodium Plating
Some Basics About Gold
Is all gold the same? Gold used in jewelry like wedding rings can come in many forms. Basic to understand the uses of gold in jewelry is karat. Karat with a K is the purity of gold, Carat with a C is a measure of weight use mostly in gem weight ( one carat is 1/5 gram). Karated gold used in engagement rings can be from 100% gold to as low as 37% gold. Gold karated grade is used to express the proportion of gold in an alloy or the quality of a gold alloy. Fine gold (pure) is 24 karat. The proportions in other karat grades are listed in the table below:
| Karats | Parts Gold to Alloy | Percentage Gold | Fineness |
| 10k | 10/24 | 41.67% | 417 |
| 14k | 14/24 | 58.33% | 583 |
| 18k | 18/24 | 75.00% | 750 |
| 24k | 24/24 | 100.00% | 1000 |
Different Colors of Gold
Gold is yellow metal but adding copper to gold makes it redder and adding silver, zinc and any other metal makes gold paler. The white color is achieved by a careful choice of the alloying metals, which bleach the deep yellow of pure gold. It is interesting to note that white gold for engagement ring and wedding jewelry was originally developed in the 1920's as a substitute for platinum. Nowadays, they are jewelry metals in their own right and currently very fashionable and desirable. White gold is available up to 21 karats. Most engagement rings are 14k or 18k. White gold is often used to enhance diamonds and other gemstones.Gold is a natural yellow metal that is alloyed with other metals to make it look white. Traditionally, these alloys have not been able to bleach the gold completely giving the final product a faint yellow hue. This is normally means that white gold jewelry has to be plated to look white, but not anymore.
The Problem with White Gold
For several years, white gold, even in the best mixture, had a hint of yellow. Some manufactures of white gold look light yellow and never achieve the white look. It does not sound like a big problem because if you don’t like the light yellow look, of a specific manufacture then don’t buy it. New white gold rings are usually coated with a hard protective finish of rhodium, a silver-white metal like platinum. The rhodium plating is used to make the white gold look more white. The Rhodium is very white and very hard, but it does wear away eventually. When the rhodium wears away the quality of the white gold is seen for the first time.
White gold jewelry can be recoated with rhodium every time it starts to look yellowish, but that can be a time consuming and expensive process for consumers.
The New White Gold
Metallurgist have been steadily improving the techniques and formulas used in making white gold. This has lead to alloys of gold that are closer to pure white than was possible before. As alloys of white gold have improved, they have begun to be classified into different grades based on how purely white they are. The White Gold Task Force created a system for classifying the "whiteness" that has 3 grades:
| Grade 1: Good white. This grade includes alloys measuring less than 19 on the ASTM Yellowness Index, and does not require rhodium plating. |
| Grade 2: Reasonable white. This grade includes alloys measuring between 19 and 24.5 on the Yellowness Index. Rhodium plating is optional. |
| Grade 3: Poor white (incomplete bleaching). This grade includes alloys measuring 24.5 to 32 on the Yellowness Index, which do require rhodium plating. (Any alloy measuring above 32 on the Yellowness Index falls outside the "white gold" definition.)” |
What is immediately striking about this table is that there are now alloys of white gold that fall into the "Grade 1" category and therefore do not need to be plated. This is a significant improvement over "Grade 2 and 3" alloys which will likely still be plated. Why? Because, now, the jewelry consumer doesn't have to guess what his/her jewelry will look like in 6 months when the plating wears off. "Grade 1" white gold does not need to be plated and so it will look just as white in 10 years as it did the day it was purchased (unless, of course, its dirty).
The Bottom Line on White Gold
White metal jewelry is fashionable these days and it can be very elegant and beautiful. The sad truth used to be that if you wanted your jewelry to remain brilliantly white you would have to pay more than triple the cost of gold jewelry to get platinum. Now, with the emergence of Star White and other "Grade 1" white gold alloys that don't need to be plated, jewelry buyers can get stylish white jewelry that will stay white throughout its entire life at a fraction of the cost of platinum.
These tips are very useful to buy the wedding rings. Gold is yellow metal but adding copper to gold makes it redder and adding silver, zinc and any other metal makes gold paler. Thanks to sharing it.
ReplyDeleteVintage Tom