Pure gold is so soft that it is not practical for jewelry making so it needs to be mixed with other minerals. One of the most popular mixes around is the one that results in white gold.
For jewelry purposes, yellow gold is mixed, or alloyed with other metals. Pure gold is 24 carat and rarely used for jewelry. Once you create an alloy the purity drops so with gold, you end up with common alloys of 9 carat, 12 carat, 18 carat and 22 carat gold. Twelve carat, for example, is 50% gold with the remainder a range of metals.
Nickel, copper, silver, zinc, and palladium are the most common metals used to make alloys. Of these, nickel, zinc or palladium are combined, often with copper, to create jewelry white gold. To create white gold, these metals effectively bleach the gold to a greyish white. Palladium is the most effective, unfortunately it is also the most expensive - more expensive than gold itself.
By using a combination of these metals you can control the degree of whiteness and hardness of the jewelry white gold. Rings are a good example as they need to look good whilst maintaining their shape for decades. Alloys that can easily be worked into rings are generally a combination of gold, silver, copper and palladium.
This could be in the proportions of 75% gold, 4% silver, 4% copper and 17% palladium. This would create jewelry white gold that is 18 carat, hard wearing with a platinum style look
Jewelry white gold was created back in the 1920's to satisfy a demand for platinum jewelry. Platinum is far more expensive than gold so it can be too expensive for most people. Jewelry white gold looks and feels like platinum yet it is far less expensive.
There are cheap versions of jewelry white gold that use lesser quantities of palladium together with silver or even cheaper metals. These combination's do not bleach the gold as effectively often leaving a pale yellow allow. To give this yellow gold a true white gold, it is plated with rhodium. The plating creates a white gold that is highly polished and looks just like platinum.
Unfortunately, over time the rhodium starts to wear off and the true color of the cheap white gold shows through. This can make a fantastic piece of jewelry look cheap and junky within days. The process of wearing can take four or five years, but when it happens it happens quickly.
Like platinum, Jewelry white gold is a greyish color when created. Rhodium plating gives it that luscious white finish. Today's quality alloys of white gold are more suited to jewelry making than platinum as it is easier to work with. Platinum is not an easy metal to bend with simple jewelers tools unlike jewelry white gold which has the flexibility of soft pure gold yet the strength of platinum.
Jewelry white gold is one of the most popular alloys amongst young professionals as it provides the look and feel of platinum at a much lower cost. If you want the platinum look then look for quality jewelry white gold. - 17943
For jewelry purposes, yellow gold is mixed, or alloyed with other metals. Pure gold is 24 carat and rarely used for jewelry. Once you create an alloy the purity drops so with gold, you end up with common alloys of 9 carat, 12 carat, 18 carat and 22 carat gold. Twelve carat, for example, is 50% gold with the remainder a range of metals.
Nickel, copper, silver, zinc, and palladium are the most common metals used to make alloys. Of these, nickel, zinc or palladium are combined, often with copper, to create jewelry white gold. To create white gold, these metals effectively bleach the gold to a greyish white. Palladium is the most effective, unfortunately it is also the most expensive - more expensive than gold itself.
By using a combination of these metals you can control the degree of whiteness and hardness of the jewelry white gold. Rings are a good example as they need to look good whilst maintaining their shape for decades. Alloys that can easily be worked into rings are generally a combination of gold, silver, copper and palladium.
This could be in the proportions of 75% gold, 4% silver, 4% copper and 17% palladium. This would create jewelry white gold that is 18 carat, hard wearing with a platinum style look
Jewelry white gold was created back in the 1920's to satisfy a demand for platinum jewelry. Platinum is far more expensive than gold so it can be too expensive for most people. Jewelry white gold looks and feels like platinum yet it is far less expensive.
There are cheap versions of jewelry white gold that use lesser quantities of palladium together with silver or even cheaper metals. These combination's do not bleach the gold as effectively often leaving a pale yellow allow. To give this yellow gold a true white gold, it is plated with rhodium. The plating creates a white gold that is highly polished and looks just like platinum.
Unfortunately, over time the rhodium starts to wear off and the true color of the cheap white gold shows through. This can make a fantastic piece of jewelry look cheap and junky within days. The process of wearing can take four or five years, but when it happens it happens quickly.
Like platinum, Jewelry white gold is a greyish color when created. Rhodium plating gives it that luscious white finish. Today's quality alloys of white gold are more suited to jewelry making than platinum as it is easier to work with. Platinum is not an easy metal to bend with simple jewelers tools unlike jewelry white gold which has the flexibility of soft pure gold yet the strength of platinum.
Jewelry white gold is one of the most popular alloys amongst young professionals as it provides the look and feel of platinum at a much lower cost. If you want the platinum look then look for quality jewelry white gold. - 17943
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White gold is one of the most sort after metals when it comes to jewelry so if you are looking for jewelry white gold, see what bargains we have been able to find online. White gold jewelry for long wearing style.
