Tips For Buying Gold Jewelry

1. Gold has always been treasured for its value, both as a metal and in the form of ornaments. We all buy gold for both of these reasons, directly or indirectly. If you’re buying gold as an investment, go for the purest form that you can buy. If buying simply for ornamentation, you may opt to choose a less pure form.

2. The purity of gold is displayed in karats: 10, 12, 18 and 24 karat gold. The number indicates purity. 18k gold is comprised of 18 parts of gold and 6 parts of other metals. 12K gold contains 12 parts of gold out of 24 and 10K gold would contain 12 parts of other metals. 24K gold is the purest and does not contain any other metal.

3. Gold jewelry uses gold of one or the other karats. Always ask about the purity of the gold used in the jewelry you buy. Very versatile, gold can be shaped into different forms: wires, flat sheets, rings or poured into a mold for custom shapes. This is why gold is widely used in jewelry.

4. If buying gold jewelry with stone insets like diamonds, rubies, emeralds or any other gemstones, always ask about the quality and purity of the stones used. The jeweler should be able to provide you with a certificate of authenticity of the gemstone, preferably from the GIA, Gemological Institute of America or the AGS American Gem Society.

5. You may have heard of White Gold. White gold is a gold alloy containing a percentage of nickel or platinum. Some people experience allergic reactions to white gold. Jewelers are now shifting to palladium as the other metal used in white gold since it does not create allergic reactions. Always ask for gold mixed with palladium when you buy white gold.

6. Avoid gold "plated" jewelry, unless you plan on infrequent use. Gold plating usually consists of a very fine layer of gold. The thinner the plating, the faster it will wear off and begin to look tarnished and worn out.

Caution

Always ask for a certificate of authenticity for the gold jewelry that you purchase and separate certificates specifying the quality of any gemstones that are a part of your gold jewelry collection.

What is white gold?

White gold was originally developed to imitate platinum, and is usually an alloy containing 25% nickel and zinc. If stamped 18 karat, it would be 75% pure gold.

White gold is an alloy of gold and at least one white metal, usually nickel or palladium. Like yellow gold, white gold is measured in karats.

White gold's properties vary depending on the metals and proportions used. As a result, white gold alloys can be used for different purposes; while a nickel alloy is hard and strong, and therefore good for rings and pins, gold-palladium alloys are soft, pliable and good for white gold gemstone settings. The highest quality white gold is usually at least 17 karat, and made up of gold and palladium, sometimes with trace levels of platinum for weight and durability, although this often requires specialized goldsmiths.

White Gold is an alloy of gold and silver or palladium. Nickel used to be used instead of silver or palladium, but nickel can cause skin reactions with some people. All high quality white gold does not use nickel for this reason. As white gold is a light gray color, it is sometimes plated with rhodium to give it more of a white coloring.

While some higher-quality white gold alloys retain their shine and lustre, most will be coated with a very thin layer of rhodium. This gives the naturally more-dull white gold a shine comparable to platinum or silver; however the rhodium may wear off over time.

Actually, they are true carat golds, just like yellow or red carat gold jewellery. They are gold alloys that look white rather than yellow. The white colour is achieved by careful choice of the alloying metals, which bleach the deep yellow of pure gold.

It is interesting to note that white golds for jewellery were originally developed in the 1920's as a substitute for platinum. Nowadays, they are a jewellery metal in their own right and currently very fashionable and desirable, particularly among the younger age groups. White golds are available up to 21 carat. They are often used to enhance diamonds and other gemstones. White gold bridal jewellery is increasingly popular.

Making gold white
Making gold white is similar to mixing colours in paints. Adding a red metal (copper) will tend to make gold red and adding a white metal tends to make gold paler and eventually white. Thus, all other alloying metals to gold, apart from copper, will tend to whiten the colour and so it is possible to make carat golds that are a reasonable white colour.

Whilst additions of any white metal to gold will tend to bleach it's colour, in practice, nickel and palladium (and platinum) are strong 'bleachers ' of gold, silver and zinc are moderate bleachers and all others are moderate to weak in effect.

This has given rise, historically, to 2 basic classes of white golds - the Nickel whites and the Palladium whites. The nickel-whites tend to have a colder white colour, whereas the palladium whites have a warmer colour. Good nickel whites tend to be hard and difficult to process. Good palladium whites tend to be soft, easy to process (but lost wax casting is more difficult) but are much more expensive, because of the price of palladium. Consequently, many commercial white alloys are thrifted in nickel or palladium and contain some copper; hence, colour is compromised. At the 8-10 carat (33.3 - 41.6% gold) level, gold-silver alloys are quite white, ductile although soft and are used for jewellery purposes.

Yellow Gold vs White Gold

Gold prices have been on a steady incline over the past year, but the growing price tag seems to have had little effect on the overall global demand for gold jewelry.

While individuality and a lack of rules characterize current fashion, here are a few suggested guidelines: Yellow Gold works fabulously with the current ethnic-inspired trends which have ruled apparel for several years and looks best with rich, gem-hued clothing.

Black and white clothing calls for basic white gold jewelry. And, according to online polls conducted by NationalJewelerNetwork.com, 53% of the gold jewelry sold in retail sales is white gold.

Trends in jewelry fashion also include designer wedding jewelry, evident by the growing popularity of the white gold 3 Stone Engagement Ring. Metal choice should depend on stones and design. We like white gold for diamond jewelry, and yellow gold is better for more fashion-oriented styles.

As for diamond wedding jewelry, women like the wedding band to make a statement. The unbroken circle is an age-old symbol of eternity. The eternity ring, with its circle of diamonds, symbolizes the never ending love of the couple. The circle is endless and timeless suggesting a repetitive unbroken wholeness in time and space.

White Gold Jewelry - An Affordable Substitute For Platinum

White gold jewelry is widely accepted in place of platinum. Jewelry made with platinum comes with the heftiest price tag as compared to gold or other metals. White gold jewelry has a special spark, is easy to maintain, catches the eye and is also especially reflective for diamonds.

Various designs look absolutely stunning in this form of gold. If you love diamonds, combine them with white gold and you will have a sparkling piece of jewelry. White gold was specially developed as the substitute for platinum in making jewelry.

Platinum jewelry is very expensive in comparison to white gold jewelry and the marriage season calls in for heavy demand of white gold jewelry.

Well-crafted white gold jewelry will brighten up your look and keep you shimmering throughout your wedding. At Elsa Jewelry, we can make the jewelry as per custom design or choose from our quality selection of designer wedding jewelry.

By Stefan Deutsch

All about White Gold

What is White Gold?
White gold is an alloy of gold and other white metals that has silver, nickel, platinum and palladium. Same as yellow gold, white gold can also be 18kt, 14kt, 8kt or any karat. An 18kt white gold is 75% gold mixed with 25% other material called silver and palladium. The color of this gold is white color.

Properties of White Gold

The properties of white gold would normally vary depending upon the actual metals that are used in it and the proportions that is used in it. So, white gold alloys could even be custom made for any particular purposes; for instance, alloys using nickel are usually very hard and very strong, so it could be used for rings and pins. White alloys using palladium are quite softer and more flexible and could be further used for settings to hold a gemstone.

White gold is actually speaking white; its actual color is grey steel like color that is treated with the metal rhodium which makes the finished white gold to appear white in color.

White Gold Jewelry

You could find all types of white gold jewelry today. From pins to brooches to chains, necklace, bracelets and rings, gorgeous white gold jewelry is very east to find. Further white gold wedding bans and engagement rinds are gaining popularity day by day.

Taking Care of White Gold

White gold rings are coated with Rhodium. Rhodium is same as platinum and also shares many its properties including its white color. Just because the natural color of white gold is light grey, rhodium plating makes white gold whiter. Since rhodium ultimately wears away white gold should be re-rhodium plated every 12 to 18 months.

Whatever white gold you choose, however you choose to purchase it, white gold is extremely beautiful. Get what you want and enjoy!

By Jasonkendric

White Gold in Jewelry

White gold is a wildly popular metal for use in all sorts of jewelry, and makes a stylish choice for wedding rings, engagement rings and eternity rings. Yet, if you have ever seen a solid gold bar, you probably noticed that pure gold has a vibrant, deep yellowish-orange tint. So where does white gold come from? Actually, there is no such thing as white gold! Gold in its purest form is exactly the color the name suggests—gold.

By the early 1900s, jewelers had developed the advanced techniques required to make jewelry from platinum. Platinum, being highly durable and a stunning silver-white color, became a superior option to the silver that had been widely used to accentuate diamonds. The rarity of platinum, however, contributed to its high value, making this beautiful silver metal unaffordable to most. White gold began to fill the public’s insatiable demand for a shiny silver yet sturdy metal for jewelry.

The purest form of gold, 24 karat gold, is not often used alone in jewelry manufacturing because of its inherent softness as a metal. Instead, gold is commonly mixed with other metals to form an alloy, which is a combination of metals. However, simply mixing gold with another metal does not make it appear white. When metals are alloyed, a change takes place in the atomic structure which causes a change in the way the metal reflects light from different wavelengths. When gold is alloyed with one of the metals used to produce white gold, the metal takes on a silver-white hue, the characteristic color of white gold.

White gold can be produced by alloying gold with one or several other metals that have a “whitening” effect, commonly nickel, zinc, copper, or palladium. Nickel has been heavily used to produce white gold in the past, though the jewelry industry is transitioning away from its use partly because of the allergic reactions some people have to nickel. Palladium, a sister metal of platinum, makes an excellent constituent of white gold, though its rarity and high melting point make palladium expensive to purchase and tricky in manufacturing. White gold alloys are not limited to gold and another metal. It would not be uncommon, for instance, for white gold to be composed of a combination of gold, silver, copper and palladium.

White gold jewelry is often plated with rhodium, a white, reflective and very durable metal that is also related to platinum. This rhodium plating serves to strengthen and brighten the color of the white gold. Eventually, a rhodium plating will wear off, so there is a need to have rhodium plated white gold jewelry re-plated periodically. The amount of time before re-plating is needed depends on the amount of rhodium present and how harshly the ring is treated.

By Maher

Wonderful White Gold Wedding Rings

The elegant and sophisticated look of glittering, gleaming gold. There’s nothing quite like it.

Some people never grow tired of the look of pure gold jewelry. Gold, being our most precious metal, is often a first choice among couples looking for that perfect gold wedding ring.

While yellow gold remains very popular with the wedding crowd. Many people prefer the brilliant hue of a white gold wedding ring.

White gold will look beautiful on you whether you’re a man or a woman. You can find online a great selection of white gold diamond wedding rings and white gold wedding ring sets. Also, if you’re looking for something a little fancier that can also become a piece of wonderful keepsake jewelry, white gold makes a very elegant engraved wedding ring that can be passed on to future generations.

The one thing you need to be aware of when buying a white gold wedding ring is that it will need periodic maintenance in order to keep it’s luster.

To obtain it’s much desired glittering white color, white gold is coated with another alloy called Rhodium (the natural color of white gold is really light gray). Rhodium will wear down after a while, so to maintain your ring’s luster, you’ll need to visit your local jeweler about every 12-18 months and have it re-plated with a new coating of Rhodium. The cost for this should be very reasonable.

Whether you’re looking for a plain gold wedding band, or a wedding ring with sparkling diamonds, white gold is an excellent choice for those looking for something a little extra special.

By Donna Monday