White gold turning Yellow???

[fire&ice]

Is this a relatively new phenom w/ the current white gold out there today.

My family ring is white gold & it is *still* *very* white. I''m not exactly sure of age - probably 30''s? Most older white gold rings (which were not plated w/ rhod.) are still white.

Have they changed the composition?

Thanks.

 

[lenore80]

I recently read a checklist (i think it was on GOG, actually), and one of the disadvantages with white gold is that it can turn yellow. My mom's ring is white gold (over 35 yrs old) and has not turned yet.

I think the older rings are reinforced with palladium or rhodium, and the new ones are nickel. But Im not sure, so someone needs to correct me!

lenore

 

[NewYorker]

My mom's is white gold and over 40 years old and it just looks worn and not as white, but I wouldn't call it yellow.

My sister has her MIL's ring which is also 40 years old and it turns yellow and she has to get it rhodium plated every few years.

I guess every ring is different and as the previous person said, probably made up of different elements.

 

[Hest88]

Most white gold rings made today are a cheap mix of white gold and nickel. Nickel doesn't mask the yellow very well (and causes contact allergies in many people), so the rings are then rhodium plated to give it a silvery appearance. The plating wears away over time and needs to be re-plated.

If you hunt down an alloy of gold and either silver or, more commonly, palladium, you'll get a true silvery white that doesn't need to be plated. I'm not sure, but I suspect that many of the vintage white gold rings were a gold and silver alloy. My sister also has a white gold ring from the '30s and it looks as white as it probably did the day it was made.

 

[fire&ice]

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On 9/6/2003 11:28

1 AM Hest88 wrote:

Most white gold rings made today are a cheap mix of white gold and nickel. Nickel doesn't mask the yellow very well (and causes contact allergies in many people), so the rings are then rhodium plated to give it a silvery appearance. The plating wears away over time and needs to be re-plated.

If you hunt down an alloy of gold and either silver or, more commonly, palladium, you'll get a true silvery white that doesn't need to be plated. I'm not sure, but I suspect that many of the vintage white gold rings were a gold and silver alloy. My sister also has a white gold ring from the '30s and it looks as white as it probably did the day it was made.
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Thanks. Makes sense. But what doesn't make sense is why doesn't the industry offer a white gold w/ a better alloy. Or, do they?

I, for one, would be happy to pay a premium as nearly all my jewelry is white. I suspect it would still be much less expensive than platinum.

 

[NewYorker]

I don't know, I hope someone out there can answer that as I too, only wear white gold. You'd think it would be regulated, but I guess not.