The Colour of Gold

[White Orchid]

I had a conversation a while back with a friend about someone''s engagement ring. My friend said the ring was lovely but she would never wear it because it was yellow gold and she only wears white. I suspect her comment really had more to do with her wanting her own e-ring, and not so much the colour of the gold. But still it got me thinking, do you wearing just one colour?

I know I''ve never been the most fashion-forward, but I love gold in all its shades. A lot of my jewelry (including my e-ring) is two-tone so I just can''t wrap my head around sticking to one colour of gold.

 

[LaraOnline]

It''s a personal thing. for some reason, I''m a retro girl (hey, maybe I''m a bevan!) and I prefer yellow gold. While there is white gold in the head of my wedding jewellery, generally I prefer not to mix the metals. But I have lots of friends that do. What ever takes your fancy.

it may have been petty for your friend to find fault with the white gold in someone else''s engagement ring, but it''s not uncommon for people to prefer one colour over the other...

 

[Brown.Eyed.Girl]

Date: 1/25/2009 7:06:42 PM
Author:White Orchid
I had a conversation a while back with a friend about someone's engagement ring. My friend said the ring was lovely but she would never wear it because it was yellow gold and she only wears white. I suspect her comment really had more to do with her wanting her own e-ring, and not so much the colour of the gold. But still it got me thinking, do you wearing just one colour?


I know I've never been the most fashion-forward, but I love gold in all its shades. A lot of my jewelry (including my e-ring) is two-tone so I just can't wrap my head around sticking to one colour of gold.

Well, it might have been the color of gold. My mom and I both wore yellow gold years ago (when I was younger and she was buying me jewelery, and all she was wearing was yellow). Now we both much prefer white gold - my mom only rarely wears her older yellow gold pieces, and I never do. And of course, now the catch-22 - since I stopped wearing and buying yellow gold, ALL my jewelry is now white, so I can't really switch even if I wanted to, since any yellow gold would clash with the rest of my white gold jewelry (for instance, the earrings and necklace that are staples in my jewelry wardrobe

).

 

[Diamond*Dana]

I wear both white and yellow...I like them both. I wear them together as well, I don''t mind the look.

 

[neatfreak]

I wear white metals and rose gold. I really hate the look of regular yellow gold, in general and on me (sorry for those who love it!), but if it looked nice against my skin tone I would wear really high carat gold because I think that color is gorgeous.

I can appreciate a nice yellow gold piece though, just not for me.

 

[diamondseeker2006]

When I got married and first started collecting jewelry, yellow gold was very popular. So I have some nice pieces in yellow gold. But at some point, I realized that white metals would look better on me because of my coloring. So my new wedding set is platinum, and I am now collecting white gold and platinum pieces. So I pretty much wear only white metals now.

 

[risingsun]

I wear my tri-colored Cartier Trinity ring daily and love all three colors of the gold

I think it depends on the piece, for me.

 

[Clio]

I mostly wear yellow gold, and I love rose gold. I do have a trinity ring and a few pieces in white gold/silver that I wear on occasion, but I tend to avoid white metals. They look cold to me, especially with diamonds.

 

[coatimundi_org]

I used to be white and rose gold only, but I''m branching out and love the yellow. Just got a few yg vintage pieces--will definitely be mixing metals. I saw a woman wearing various mixed metals the other day at the doctor''s office--each piece was delicate and antique in style. The metal color was secondary--the stones (mainly diamonds) took focus. I loved the look--very subtle--she had great style in general.

Mix it up!

 

[jewelerman]

never limit myself...some days everything matches and their days that I mix....can be white,yellow or rose gold...sterling...tunsten...

 

[arjunajane]

My original ering was in white gold, as I just presumed I didn''t like yellow due to the non-trendiness issue and all.
I have since discovered YG suits my colouring much better, and now most things I buy are YG, including my ering upgrade.
I do have alot in 2 tone, and I''m a fan of mixing metals.

I think that was a *lil* tacky of your friend to crtiticize the newly engaged person''s ring..after all, she doesn''t have to wear it!

 

[LGK]

Yellow gold looks awful on me- I am very very pale, and yellow gold just looks lousy against my skin- but then all yellow does, generally. YG also clashes with the colors I wear- eggplant purple, burgundy, chinese red (or as my mom calls it, "f*** me red"), grey and black. Since I was a kid, even when yellow gold was pretty much all that was available, I've not been a fan.

My mom, on the other hand, has much much darker skin than I do, and brown hair rather than black like mine, so she's always worn nothing BUT yellow gold... and it looks good on her, better than white gold.

I do think skin undertone has a lot to do with what looks nice on people, that and the amount of pigment you have in your skin... darker skin looks beautiful with warm rich yellow gold against it, especially high karat.

 

[partgypsy]

I think I have changed over time. There was definitely a time during the 80''s late ninties where for example my older relatives would wear lots and lots of yellow gold (multiple necklaces) and I thought that looked tacky. During that time I pretty much wore all silver. Maybe if I wore gold jewelry during that time I would have been maxed out on yellow.
By the time I started buying real jewelry the trend had swung back to white gold and platinum. But to me yellow gold looked more "real" to me, and maybe I did just like the warm color more so my important rings have all been in yellow gold.
A diamond pendant I have and my diamond earrings are in white gold though because I think it suits them more, and also have a two tone bezel diamond ring that I really like, so I guess I am for mixing, with a preference for yellow.

 

[tlh]

You know... it just depends on the stone. With some stones I really do prefer the look of yellow gold.... With colorless diamonds, I am partial to the whites. But sometimes warmer tones really sing in a yellow gold. I think every gem has its home in some setting, and it is the gem that speaks to me... if that makes any sense, or am I waxing poetic?

 

[elle_chris]

I''ve never like yellow gold on me, and have never worn it until I bought a yellow gold traveling ring. The only reason I did that was because of my allergy to white gold. I''ve worn it a few times stacked with other rings, but I''m still not convinced I like it on me.

I totally agree that it depends on your coloring. My mom who looks liike she always has a tan only wears yellow gold and it looks amazing on her. On me, well.. washed out.

 

[Lulie]

I like/wear both, yellow is still strong in my family, do appreciate the richness of 18k y/g in rings and 21k w/intricate designs in others.

 

[geckodani]

Date: 1/26/2009 4:50:41 AM
Author: LittleGreyKitten
Yellow gold looks awful on me- I am very very pale, and yellow gold just looks lousy against my skin- but then all yellow does, generally. YG also clashes with the colors I wear- eggplant purple, burgundy, chinese red (or as my mom calls it, ''f*** me red''), grey and black. Since I was a kid, even when yellow gold was pretty much all that was available, I''ve not been a fan.

My mom, on the other hand, has much much darker skin than I do, and brown hair rather than black like mine, so she''s always worn nothing BUT yellow gold... and it looks good on her, better than white gold.

I do think skin undertone has a lot to do with what looks nice on people, that and the amount of pigment you have in your skin... darker skin looks beautiful with warm rich yellow gold against it, especially high karat.

I''m the same way - and shade of yellow or orange looks horrid on me, LOL. I''m Casper''s cousin when it comes to skin tone, and have a reather yellowish undertone to my skin.

I LOVE the look of yellow gold- just not on me! LOL!

 

[AGBF]

I am a gold lover and there are several old threads on this topic elsewhere on Pricescope. If I get energetic, I will go look for them and link them to this one .

I used to wear yellow gold (14K or 18K) because that was the classic look. I am not averse to platinum (or white gold). I recall trying to decide if I wanted a white gold wedding band like my mother's or a yellow gold one like my grandmother's, so at one time I must have been more open to white gold than I am now!

Recently I have become a convert to high karat gold. Almost everything I buy is 24K gold if I can get it in 24K. Sometimes, of course, I must get a piece in 22K or in whatever it is made, right down to 14K. While we are discussing what looks better, however, I will tell you that high karat gold looks wonderful on me.

Some people with light skin have said that yellow gold does not look good on them. I have participated in enough discussions on the color of gold to know that light skin comes in different varieties! My skin is very fair with a pink tone. My hair is naturally very dark, but my mother always told me I had a redhead's coloring, which I think is true. I have freckles; light eyebrows and eyelashes. When I was younger and colored my hair blonde or red, people assumed it was natural because I had light eyes as well as light eyebrows and eyelashes, etcetera. I remember one man (at a craft fair) saying to me, "You can tell you're a natural blonde!" (This to a woman whose hair had mistakenly been called, "black" all her life!) Do I digress?

My point is that some people with fair skin look good in high karat gold and some people with dark skin look better in platinum. (I believe it was Mara who wrote about the great look created by the contrast between white metal and her tan in one thread, but I can check that!)

I love this topic!

Deborah

 

[AGBF]

Is Yellow Gold Out Of Style?


I said that if I got energetic I would look up some of the classic discussions of gold color that we have had on Pricescope in the past. One of the discussions took place in this thread. We had this before high karat gold had become as popular as it now is. When we had this discussion, high karat gold was just beginning to become popular!

There are more threads of interest, but my daughter wants the computer and we are in Connecticut where we must share.

Deborah

 

[packrat]

When I was little, I thought yellow gold was IT. When I got older and started buying jewelry for myself, it was all silver or white gold, and I didn''t much care for yellow. My mom bought me a yellow gold pearl ring several years ago..and now most of my rings are yellow gold for some reason. My wedding set is white gold, and I have a 3 stone ring in white gold w/rose gold head. I have now become obsessed with getting a new wedding set in rose gold. Certain color stones look better, to me, in certain gold colors, so anymore, I don''t really care what color the gold is, so long as the stone looks good w/it. I don''t worry about mixing metal colors together either.

 

[AGBF]

The following discussion took place bewteen Aljdewey and Pyramid in the thread to which I posted a link above.


__________________

Date: 11/1/2005 2:31:03 PM
Author: Pyramid

Pyramid:

"I keep reading that people think yellow gold or white gold/platinum looks better with their skin.

What skin suits which color?

Is it yellow gold for darker skin and white gold for fairer skin?"

Al:

"Nope - it's usually the opposite.

Causacasians typically have a green tone to their skin that is more complemented by yellow/ivory. It's why most fair-skinned ladies look better in ivory wedding dresses, and in yellow gold.

Other nationalities with darker or more olive tones tend to favor whiter looks - i.e. white metals and white dresses."

_____________________



Deborah

 

[geckodani]

Date: 1/26/2009 1:11:11 PM
Author: AGBF



The following discussion took place bewteen Aljdewey and Pyramid in the thread to which I posted a link above.


__________________

Date: 11/1/2005 2:31:03 PM
Author: Pyramid

Pyramid:

''I keep reading that people think yellow gold or white gold/platinum looks better with their skin.

What skin suits which color?

Is it yellow gold for darker skin and white gold for fairer skin?''

Al:

''Nope - it''s usually the opposite.

Causacasians typically have a green tone to their skin that is more complemented by yellow/ivory. It''s why most fair-skinned ladies look better in ivory wedding dresses, and in yellow gold.

Other nationalities with darker or more olive tones tend to favor whiter looks - i.e. white metals and white dresses.''

_____________________




Deborah

Meh. Tell that to my yellow undertone.

DH is Irish and RED and looks good in the yellow gold, IMO.

 

[Elmorton]

I wear mostly white, but I''m open to all metals.

 

[musey]

Date: 1/25/2009 7:06:42 PM
Author:White Orchid
I had a conversation a while back with a friend about someone's engagement ring. My friend said the ring was lovely but she would never wear it because it was yellow gold and she only wears white. I suspect her comment really had more to do with her wanting her own e-ring, and not so much the colour of the gold. But still it got me thinking, do you wearing just one colour?

Some colors simply don't look good on some skin tones (whether it be only the wearer's opinion/preference, or something that most would agree with). Yellow gold really does not look the greatest on my rosy/pink/pale skin. Rose gold and white metals look much better.

That's likely all that your friend meant.

To answer your question, I wear primarily white metals. I have a couple of pieces with yellow gold (a tri-color rolling ring and a gold locket), but in those cases the color is all about the design/look of the piece as opposed to the way the metal looks against my skin.

 

[White Orchid]

Date: 1/26/2009 4:21:37 PM
Author: musey

Some colors simply don''t look good on some skin tones (whether it be only the wearer''s opinion/preference, or something that most would agree with). Yellow gold really does not look the greatest on my rosy/pink/pale skin. Rose gold and white metals look much better.


That''s likely all that your friend meant.

You make a valid point, but this wasn''t the case here. She''s been my good friend for years and years, and I know she''s been itching for her own ring. This is just her way of trying to look tough. Of course the yellow gold hoops she was wearing at the time didn''t help her case much!

I completely understand preferences changing over time, or even changing with your mood from day to day. Of course it all depends on the piece - while I tend to prefer yellow gold, I''ve caught myself thinking many times: "that would look so much nicer in white gold!"