Can someone explain this to me about 18K white gold?

[beaujolais]

O.K., so 18K yellow gold is a deeper gold than 14K yellow, right?

So, why would one want to use 18K yellow (instead of 14K yellow) and then have to add even more other alloys (more than you''d add in 14K) to bring it to a white color?

Does not make sense. No?

 

[JohnQuixote]

Date: 1/10/2008 6:25:26 PM
Author:sonomacounty
O.K., so 18K yellow gold is a deeper gold than 14K yellow, right?

So, why would one want to use 18K yellow (instead of 14K yellow) and then have to add even more other alloys (more than you''d add in 14K) to bring it to a white color?

Does not make sense. No?

Most white gold is rhodium plated, so its whiteness is the same regardless of purity. There are some newer WG alloys that are pretty white without being plated.

You may be interested in the first and last sections of this journal article on common alloys.

 

[beaujolais]

Thanks John.



Yes. I''m speaking of when after the rhodium wears off.

There are some newer WG alloys that are pretty white without being plated.>

More white than palladium (although some say palladium is a bit grey)? Care to say what the new ones are called and who makes them?

Thanks so much

 

[JohnQuixote]

Stuller's new X-1 WG has had good reviews. It also passes the EU nickel release tests (though it still uses some nickel).

 

[LitigatorChick]

I have 19K white gold, which does not need to be plated. Does not seem very common though. We will see how it holds up in the whiteness department!

 

[ChattyCat]

LitigatorChick, may I ask who made your ring? I''ve never seen 19K offered anywhere, but I''m definitely intrigued.

 

[LitigatorChick]

It was custom made by a friend of my husbands. His company is called Premier Gems: small one man company here in Calgary. I think the 19K white gold is a Canadian thing (as far as I can tell). It does not appear as much in the U.S. I love the idea, and it was no more expensive than 18K rhodium plated WG.