Is 10k white gold really bad?

[rubybeth]

Please forgive my ignorance! A local jewelry store has these cute stacking rings, some just diamonds, some with gemstones, and I'd love to have some stackers for a RHR. However, they are all 10k gold. When I noticed that, I kind of stopped wanting them. A few months later and I'm now noticing my 18k gold rings have turned ever so slightly yellow over the years, and I wore a ring of my mother's that was 10k gold to make sure I'm not allergic to the nickel. The 18k gold turning a bit yellow doesn't bother me at all, but the 10k having more alloys would keep them whiter longer, right? Is 10k really "bad"? The rings are pretty cheap and the store often has sales, esp. for the birthstone months, and Sept. (sapphire) is coming up.

 

[stone-cold11]

10K WG not really bad, just that it is cheaper as it uses less Gold, assuming the alloying metal is not some more expensive metal. It cannot really be called a gold alloy unless the other 14K is from a mix of metals as the total % weight of gold is less than half the total weight, only about 42% is gold.

Whiteness, depends on the alloying metal use, not just the purity of the gold.

 

[jstarfireb]

I don't have much 10k, but I think I actually prefer lower-karat white gold because it looks less yellow than higher-karat white gold if the rhodium plating wears off. For rose and yellow gold, I prefer 14k.

 

[Verdy]

I have a 10k gold ring from Zales that my mother gave me as a birthday present! I've had it for almost 4 years and it's still going strong!

 

[Laila619]

No, it's not bad. The nice thing is 10k probably won't turn yellow since there isn't a lot of gold content.

 

[marcy]

No it's not a bad thing and it's not as soft as higher karat gold.

 

[Karl_K]

It all depends on what is in the alloy.
Some 10k will tarnish some quickly because the metals used in the mix tarnish.
Some will hold up a long time.
The problem.... you cant tell by looking.
I have seen low cost 10k items last years and years and higher cost 10k items that tarnished in 3 months.

 

[rubybeth]

Thanks, everyone, for the comments! My mom wears two 10k rings pretty regularly and they both still look great. She's gotten them rhodium plated once each, I think, but I think she could get away with just getting them polished.

Karl, would tarnishing be a big issue depending on how much the ring is worn? Can it be polished away?

 

[Karl_K]

How much it is worn and in what of course makes a difference but not as much as the alloy.
If it doesn't pit it can usually be polished many times before enough material is removed to ruin the setting.

The way I look at it is:
fun ring - If it needs replacing a few years down the road no big deal. then I use silver or 10k.. honestly I prefer silver over 10k wg.


forever ring or sentimental - 14k or higher.

 

[Cehrabehra]

I have NO problem with 10k gold. None at all! First and foremost for me is color, durability etc. I'm not super huge fan of the color of 10k yellow gold, but it's not really bad - it just loses its "gold"ness and starts looking yellow which isn't really an issue for some pieces. Like earrings? I totally wouldn't care. To a large extent its an elitism thing. But yanno, *knowing* is most of it... a mind clean issue. If it bugs you it will bug you. But there's nothing inherently wrong with it. If I wanted yellow gold studs, 10k would be absolutely fine. For a ring I would have to decide what I wanted... I have a very heavy 10k yellow gold bracelet that I wore for years and still would if the rest of my jewelry was yellow gold.

oh - I see you're talking about white gold - seriously, NOT a problem unless it's an allergy issue. If it's going to be rhodium plated, it shouldn't matter to anyone.