Why does white gold tarnish?
What is white gold?
White gold is naturally warm in colour and not completely white like platinum or silver. White gold is not found in nature like yellow gold and in order to achieve a whiter hue other metals are added to the pure yellow gold.There are three types of white gold that you are likely to come across when choosing your white gold jewellery. These are; 9ct white gold, 14ct white gold (often used in the U.S.) & 18ct white gold.Gold is made up of 24 carats, and the carat (or ‘ct’) of gold relates to how many of those 24 carats are pure gold.
- 9ct gold contains 37.5% pure yellow gold
- 14ct gold contains 52.5% pure yellow gold
- 18ct gold contains 75% pure yellow gold
The remaining percentage typically being a mixture of Palladium, Silver, Zinc and Copper.All of the materials that the gold is made up of are known as ‘alloys’.
Why are some white golds whiter than others?
18ct gold is made up of 75% yellow gold. This explains why the yellow is likely to be more obvious in it than in 9ct white gold where the main alloy is silver which is naturally white.A difference in colour between two white gold items which have the same carat of gold is due to the quality of the gold. Some white gold has a lower percentage of Palladium, which is very expensive and will produce much whiter Gold, and some have a higher percentage of Copper which is much less expensive and will make the white gold more of a Coppery colour.
Why does white gold look completely white in colour in some shops?
This is due to a process called ‘rhodium plating’. Rhodium plating is used to create a white reflective appearance on jewellery by electroplating it in a precious metal called Rhodium.
Some jewellers use this process under the illusion that it provides a strong protective coating for the gold jewellery, however this is actually a myth. Even a very good Rhodium plating wears off very easily & never lasts the ‘year or two’ that most jewellers quote!
Rhodium plating was originally used on white gold because a common alloy used for making white gold was nickel. Nickel is extremely likely to cause allergic reactions when worn on the skin for a prolonged period of time, so in order to prevent this inevitable reaction, jewellers started plating their jewellery to make it more suitable for everyday wear.
Although nickel is no longer used in UK jewellery manufacturing, the rhodium plating remained under the pretence of making the jewellery stronger. The true reason is that it makes the metal a more neutral, whiter colour. The sad thing is most jewellery shops do not point out that the Rhodium plating is very short lived.
Can you get good and bad quality white gold and how can I tell the difference?
Yes, good and bad quality white gold exist. Unfortunately, bad quality white gold is impossible to spot once it has been rhodium plated. This is because the rhodium plating completely hides the natural colour of the white gold which can sometimes be an unattractive yellowy-brown colour.
The quality of the white gold depends on which alloys are mixed in with it, and therefore it’s colour. Good quality white gold will contain a higher percentage of Palladium than Copper, as Palladium is a much stronger and more suitable metal resulting in a much higher quality product. ‘High Palladium’ white gold as it is known is also much whiter. An experienced jeweller should be able to tell you the palladium content of their 18ct white gold, and you should be looking for 11% or higher.
Why doesn’t RING jewellers rhodium plate their white gold?
There are 2 main reasons that we do not rhodium plate our white gold.
- We use exceptional grade white gold with a 12% Palladium content. This means our white gold naturally appears very white in colour without the need to Rhodium plate it.
- Rhodium plating is a temporary process and over time the plating will wear off. This requires regular expensive re-plating. In the interest of honestly we show our customers the true colour of all of our white gold. This way the customer knows what they are getting & will not have the costly maintenance issues associated with Rhodium plated white gold that other stores sell.
What if I want my jewellery to be completely white but don’t want it rhodium plating?
A suitable alternative to white gold is Platinum. Platinum is naturally completely white in colour and is an excellent material for making strong, long lasting jewellery.
Many customers are put off from Platinum as historically it is much more expensive than white gold, however due to the current surge in gold prices Platinum is now almost exactly the same price as 18ct white gold. If you have white gold jewellery that is quite yellowy in colour when the Rhodium wears off you could bring it to RING jewellers for a quote to remake it (using your existing Diamonds if applicable) into either Platinum or our whiter white gold.
