Gold Alloys - White Gold, Rose Gold, And Yellow Gold

The gold in jewelry is usually made from gold alloys. This is because 100% pure gold is too soft to make jewelry with. A gold alloy is simply gold combined with other metals.

The type of metals used in this process helps to create the different colors of gold jewelry that we know today - white, rose, and yellow gold. Of course, pure gold is naturally yellow, however, this color can be accentuated with a small amount of other metals. 

The amount of pure gold in a piece of jewelry is measure in karats. Karats get their name because many years ago seed from carob trees were used to balance the scales to weigh gems and gold. The higher the number of karats in your jewelry, the purer the gold, and the fewer the amount of alloys.

Jewelry with a high number of karats contains more pure gold and therefore is more yellow in color. Pure gold (which is technically 99.999% pure) is 24 karats; it is always yellow in color. The color of gold is modified depending on which types of metals make up the remaining percentage of the alloy.

For example, 18 karat gold is comprised of 75 percent pure gold and 25 percent other metals. The color of the metal is determined by what metals make up the 25 percent. The proportion of those metals also plays a big factor in the color of the gold piece.

Additionally, with lower karat (less pure) gold, it is easier to alter the color it will be. When using gold alloys to create jewelry, how the different metals will react with each other, and the effect it will have on the value of the jewelry, must be considered.

White Gold Alloys

For example, when gold is combined with nickel a white gold is formed. White gold alloys became popular in the 1920s. This trend was due mostly because white gold could be used as a substitute for the more expensive platinum - people could get the look without the price tag. When nickel is combined with gold, it produces a color very similar to platinum. It is a really cheap way to 'bleach' yellow gold.

White gold can also be made by combining gold with the more expensive palladium. Palladium is a close relative of platinum. While it is possible to achieve a white gold alloy using palladium it is not often done.

The first reason jewelers tend to avoid the palladium blend is its' costs. Palladium is almost as expensive as the gold itself. Another disadvantage of palladium is its high melting point.

Silver is another metal that if combined in the proper amounts can be used to create white gold alloys. Other whiteners include zinc, platinum, indium, cobalt, platinum, and tin.

Rose Gold Alloys

Combining copper and gold while decreasing the silver content, will result in a pink or rose-colored gold. The pink color becomes deeper based on how much copper is added. The gold can actually appear a bronzy red if enough copper is added to the blend.

Green Gold Alloys

A green gold alloy can be achieved by leaving copper out of the mixture. By blending only silver and gold the result will be a greenish yellow color. Green gold’s are usually too soft to be used in jewelry. They are however popular decorative accent pieces.

Yellow Gold Alloys

Yellow gold is the most popular shade of gold sold in the United States today. Pure 24 karat gold is yellow in color. However, you can enhance the yellow color of a piece with fewer karats by adding small amounts of copper and silver.

While making different colored alloys seems simple there is a lot to consider when modifying the color of gold. To begin, you must judge how the metals are going to react with each other. If you add too much of one metal or another you can make the gold unusable. Poor combinations of metals, or incorrect quantities, may result in gold that is too hard or brittle, or to soft and malleable.