Does rose gold need special care?

[Girlrocks]

I recently purchased my 6 year old daughters their first diamond rings (ok, they have chips in them but a girl''''s gotta start somewhere and they''''re in 1st grade!). The rings are rose gold...does that need any special care? What makes rose gold pink? Is there some sort of plating process that I have to do for upkeep like white gold?

Thanks!

 

[robbie3982]

I don''t know much about rose gold, but I''m pretty sure that the pink color comes from what the gold is mixed with. I don''t think rose gold is normally plated so you shouldn''t need to have it replated.

 

[Oleander]

I don''t do anything special for my rose gold band and it looks fine. I _think_ the color comes from levels of copper in the alloy, but I may be mistaken. All gold is yellow; then it''s alloyed with another metal and it takes on a different hue or color, such as white or rose or pink or red.

 

[etienneperret]

Rose gold is rose colored because the alloy material that is mixed with the pure gold. 18kt rose gold also known as 750 gold is 75% or 750 thousands gold mixed with 25% or 250/1000s copper. 14kt rose gold is 14/24s gold and 10/24s copper. So you see that 14 karat gold is almost 1/2 copper, and the pink of the copper is what give the gold it''s color. Rose gold is also known as red gold, peach gold and pink gold. It is a somewhat stiffer alloy than yellow gold, green gold or palladium white gold.
The color of the rose gold goes all the way through and does not wear away. It does however tarnish quicker than most other gold alloys because of the high copper content.

 

[Modified Brilliant]

Nice to see you here on Pricescope!

Regards from Massachusetts

www.metrojewelryappraisers.com

 

[Cind11]

Etienne Pierret,

Since rose gold tarnishes more quickly, what can be used to remove the tarnish? Can the same products that are used to clean white or yellow gold (like jewelry cleaner or whatever) be used on the rose gold? Thanks.

ETA: I ask this because I have a ring that is entirely 14k rose gold.

 

[reader]

Are modern rose gold pieces alloyed differently? I have 2 14k rose gold rings, one is about 100 years old, and it is a more delicate pink than one purchased a few years ago...

 

[Girlrocks]

I have the same question as Cind11...can you use a silver tarnish cloth for the tarnish? These 2 rings I bought are 14k rose gold with teeny diamonds in them.

 

[etienneperret]

Hi Cind,
Yes, the same tarnish removers that work for silver will work for 18kt rose gold, because it is the copper in both alloys that is oxidizing and causing the change in color. Remember though if your ring has recesses that are meant to be darker than the main body of the ring they too will be cleaned up and not dark. My suggestion is to experiment with a little section of the ring and a Qtip before you throw the whole ring in the silver tarnish remover. You can buy the stuff in the grocery store. One brand is called TarnX.
Good luck.