19K white gold: turning yellow?

[overwhelmed]

Hello,

I have a question about using white gold for an e-ring. I read that white gold, as opposed to platinum, turns yellow over time. However, today I went and talk to a jeweller, who told me that white gold 19K and up doesn''t turn yellow over time... is that true? I think I prefer the look of WG more, and the lower cost is great too...

 

[MustangFan]

I would think no matter what the carat weight of gold that was in the ring it will still turn yellow over time since the only thing making it white is the rhodium plating, but maybe an expert could explain it better.

Platium becomes dull over time and it not as shiney as white gold

 

[kcoursolle]

Unless it''s WG with palladium, it will turn yellow and need rhodium plating. Someone please correct me if I''m wrong.

 

[TheDoctor]

You will read volumes on jewellery forums about white gold turning yellow over time.
Really, most of the white gold alloys are off-white in various shades, and most of the jewellery items sold online and in chain stores are made from alloys that need repetitive rhodium-plating in order to appear to be white.

There are a number of newer white gold alloys which are a much better choice, but many of the manufacturers are "old dogs" who don''t wish to learn "new tricks". They know the properties of the conventional alloys, don''t mind the lower cost of them, and continue to tell customers to expect them to turn yellow over time and that rhodium plating ad-nauseum should be an expected part of owning a white gold piece of jewellery.

The jeweller who offers you 19 karat white gold is truthful....of course, this is totally dependent on where they are buying it and its exact properties, but the specific 19 karat alloy I use is, as the jeweller says, free from the need for rhodium plating. I have been using it almost exclusively for almost 20 years, leaving that awful cyanide-based plating solution and its health-risks behind. (Good riddance...) My clients have never had any negative issues with this metal, and it actually saves labour because it casts beautifully, welds cleanly without nasty oxidation, and is firm enough to hold gemstones securely for decades.

I hope this helps you decide.
Cheers!

 

[FireGoddess]

Definitely depends on the alloy they use with the 19k gold.

 

[Manmountain]

My personal experience is as follows.

Nickel is the traditional coloring agent for white gold. It has a tendency in higher concentrations to harden the metal. In lower concentrations, the gold will tend to overwhelm the nickel and I have called the metal color beige for quite a while now. In Europe, nickel has been outlawed for jewelry use. There is an appreciable number of people that have reactions to it. In addition, chlorine reacts with nickel alloyed golds. This is the simple chlorine found in swimming pools, and hot tubs. Stress corrosion can result and prongs can seemingly just fall off.

In more recent years, palladium has been used to color white gold. These alloys are much easier to work. They oxidize less, are easier to clean up and are more malleable than the nickel colored alloys. I still find that they tend to be beige, however. If one uses solder, there is another reason to rhodium plate as sometimes there are visible seams.

Platinum is certainly superior. Color and corrosion are not issues with platinum. It is also more malleable and a greater number of solders are available.

BTW there are no cyanide issues with any rhodium solutions that I am familiar with. These solutions contain sulfuric acid and rhodium salts, unlike older gold plating solutions.

 

[Sparkles22]

I''ve also heard it might have something to do with the way your skin reacts to it. Some people turn white gold yellow more frequently/rapidly as well. My original wedding band was WG and I would have to keep replating it every 3 months or so, if I wanted it to stay white. Others don''t mind the light yellow hue it takes on.