Gold Alloy Guide: What Makes Gold White?

Have you ever wondered what makes pure yellow gold white, rose, pink or red? Running a jewelry store, we have been asked many times about such questions. "what is in the solid gold necklace? Why 14k yellow gold is not as yellowish as 18k?" I think it is the right time to write a clear blog post for my customers to know about the answers.

What is an alloy?
An alloy is a metal made by combining two or more metals to give it greater durability and strength. The most common and least expensive metals to be alloyed with gold are zinc, copper, nikel, and silver. Pure gold is 24K gold, and it is too soft to be crafted into jewelry pieces, so jewelers must combine gold with another metal to make it more durable and strong. Copper combined with gold makes the alloy pink and rose, the color deepth depends on the percentage of copper used. While silver added to gold makes the alloy white gold. The percentage of gold used determins the karat value of the alloy. Usually there can be 10K,14K,18K,and 22K gold.

White Gold Necklace Sold at GetPersonalizedJewelry

White gold is a combination of pure gold and white metals. White metals like nickel, silver and zince, are the most common metals to be mixed with certain percentage of gold to make white gold. The combination of gold with silver, zinc or nickel makes white gold durable and strength. White gold is also measured in karats and its value depends on how much gold it contains. The most common white gold alloys are 14K and 18K white gold. The following is the alloy metals in standard white gold jewelry:


White gold is a very popular gold alloy for engagement rings, wedding bands, necklaces and other jewelry pieces. White gold is a gold alloy by combining gold with at least one white metal. Similar as yellow gold, the purity of white gold is provided in carats. Actually white gold is not pure white color, it encompasses colors such as pale yellow, pale rose and even tinted brown. The non-white colors are often enhanced by rhodium plating.

Palladium and nikel are the most common two gold bleachers, followed by zinc and silver. Gold alloyed with nickel results in cold white color. Gold nikel alloys are hard and strong and mostly used for rings and pins. Gold-palladium alloy is pliable and soft, thus it is good for genstone setting.

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