White Gold Engagement RingsFor Engagement Rings gold is the most traditional precious metal. Gold is usually Yellow, Pink (Rose) or White. People often mistake white gold with platinum, however they are two completely different metals. In nature gold is yellow and not white, unlike platinum which is only white. To make the white gold - a mixture of alloys which total 25% is melted with 75% pure gold at the appropriate temperature. Once all melted and combined together the alloys, despite being the minority will actually dominate in colour and permanently transform the mixed metals into 18 Karat white gold. For a lower karat gold, such as 9 karat and 14 karat it’s still the same principle but the mix contains more alloy and less pure gold. The other advantage of mixing an alloy is to harden the gold making it more suitable to manufacture engagement rings and most types of jewellery. 18 karat is regarded as the best gold since it is hard enough to make quality engagement rings, yet it’s also a true gold as it’s content is 75% gold, so it has the real gold feel and luster. For a white gold engagement ring to look it’s best it is rhodium plated after it has been made and polished. The rhodium plating process enhances the appearance of the gold, by making it whiter. It’s logical as white gold after being polished can never look as white as platinum but instead it will be a pale white. The rhodium makes the white gold as white as platinum (and sometimes whiter) but it will eventually wear off, so white gold items will always require rhodium plating every few months to every few years, depending on usage and quality of the plating. This is the reason why people that own a white gold engagement ring say that it has changed colour, but in fact it hasn’t changed colour. It’s just that the rhodium plating has worn off and the true (paler colour) of the white gold starts to show below the rhodium.   |