White Gold - one of the most popular metals around when it comes to jewelry. Yet white gold does not, in reality, exist. Gold, in its purest form, is yellow and very soft - too soft to use in most jewelry pieces.
For jewelry purposes, yellow gold is mixed, or alloyed with other metals. Pure gold is 24 carat and rarely used for jewelry. Once you create an alloy the purity drops so with gold, you end up with common alloys of 9 carat, 12 carat, 18 carat and 22 carat gold. Twelve carat, for example, is 50% gold with the remainder a range of metals.
Nickel, copper, silver, zinc, and palladium are the most common metals used to make alloys. Of these, nickel, zinc or palladium are combined, often with copper, to create jewelry white gold. To create white gold, these metals effectively bleach the gold to a greyish white. Palladium is the most effective, unfortunately it is also the most expensive - more expensive than gold itself.
If the you use a combination of metals you can control the degree of whiteness and the strength of the jewelry white gold. Wedding bands are a good example. they need to look their best yet maintain their shape for years, often decades. To get an alloy that easily be worked into a ring, jewelers or metallurgist will often combine gold, silver, copper and palladium.
A ring may contain 75% gold, 4% silver, 4% copper and 17% palladium. This would result in an 18 carat jewelry white gold that is hard wearing and very platinum looking.
Jewelry white gold was created back in the 1920's to satisfy a demand for platinum jewelry. Platinum is far more expensive than gold so it can be too expensive for most people. Jewelry white gold looks and feels like platinum yet it is far less expensive.
These days you can find cheaper versions of jewelry white gold - often palmed off as the more expensive alloys. They can range in color from a dull grey through to a pale yellow. To give white look to this cheaper white gold, it is plated with rhodium. This creates a highly polished platinum looking jewelry white gold.
After three or four years the rhodium starts to wear off and the original color of the cheaper white gold alloy shows. A great piece of jewelry starts to look cheap within days.
Jewelry white gold, like platinum, is actually grey when made. It is the rhodium that provides the white finish. Modern grades of white gold are better suited to jewelry making than platinum due to its easier workability. Platinum is a tough metal to shape in comparison to jewelry white gold.
Jewelry white gold is one of the most popular alloys amongst young professionals as it provides the look and feel of platinum at a much lower cost. If you want the platinum look then look for quality jewelry white gold. - 16650
For jewelry purposes, yellow gold is mixed, or alloyed with other metals. Pure gold is 24 carat and rarely used for jewelry. Once you create an alloy the purity drops so with gold, you end up with common alloys of 9 carat, 12 carat, 18 carat and 22 carat gold. Twelve carat, for example, is 50% gold with the remainder a range of metals.
Nickel, copper, silver, zinc, and palladium are the most common metals used to make alloys. Of these, nickel, zinc or palladium are combined, often with copper, to create jewelry white gold. To create white gold, these metals effectively bleach the gold to a greyish white. Palladium is the most effective, unfortunately it is also the most expensive - more expensive than gold itself.
If the you use a combination of metals you can control the degree of whiteness and the strength of the jewelry white gold. Wedding bands are a good example. they need to look their best yet maintain their shape for years, often decades. To get an alloy that easily be worked into a ring, jewelers or metallurgist will often combine gold, silver, copper and palladium.
A ring may contain 75% gold, 4% silver, 4% copper and 17% palladium. This would result in an 18 carat jewelry white gold that is hard wearing and very platinum looking.
Jewelry white gold was created back in the 1920's to satisfy a demand for platinum jewelry. Platinum is far more expensive than gold so it can be too expensive for most people. Jewelry white gold looks and feels like platinum yet it is far less expensive.
These days you can find cheaper versions of jewelry white gold - often palmed off as the more expensive alloys. They can range in color from a dull grey through to a pale yellow. To give white look to this cheaper white gold, it is plated with rhodium. This creates a highly polished platinum looking jewelry white gold.
After three or four years the rhodium starts to wear off and the original color of the cheaper white gold alloy shows. A great piece of jewelry starts to look cheap within days.
Jewelry white gold, like platinum, is actually grey when made. It is the rhodium that provides the white finish. Modern grades of white gold are better suited to jewelry making than platinum due to its easier workability. Platinum is a tough metal to shape in comparison to jewelry white gold.
Jewelry white gold is one of the most popular alloys amongst young professionals as it provides the look and feel of platinum at a much lower cost. If you want the platinum look then look for quality jewelry white gold. - 16650
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