What Is White Gold An Informational Topic From Mrs. Gottrocks Fine Jewelry and Gifts

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Mrs. Gottrocks Over The Counter Advice in its 7th Year! OVER THE COUNTER ADVICE™ FROM MRS. GOTTROCKS

WHAT IS WHITE GOLD?

I love getting emails from interested web shoppers, and recently I received one asking for more information about white gold.

IS WHITE GOLD REALLY GOLD? Karat white and yellow gold are basically the same thing. 10k white gold has the same amount of pure gold in it as 10k yellow gold. The difference is, when making different karat weights of gold (10k, 14k, 18k, etc.), the manufacturer has the choice of which alloys to use, and different alloys make different final colors.(If this doesn't make sense to you, read our topics on karating or gold and precious metals information and see if that helps.)

Pure gold has a yellow glow to it. But karat gold is not pure gold, it has other metal alloys in it. If the manufacturer wants the final product to take on a whiter sheen, he simply uses a particular mix of alloys when creating the karat gold. He can also use different formulas to come up with rose gold, green gold and other "designer" colors.

IS WHITE GOLD RARE? White gold jewelry may seem rarer, but that is only because yellow gold has been more popular these last thirty years or so. Our mothers and grandmothers were very much into white gold jewelry, and its popularity is rising again today. These days, using white gold and yellow gold on the same piece of jewelry is a designer trend, and gives us a more affordable version of the platinum and 18k yellow gold look.

PRICE. Because white gold and yellow gold have the same basic gold content, the price is generally the same for either. Sometimes you may pay a bit more for white gold if the piece of jewelry you are buying had to be special ordered.

AVAILABILITY. When shopping at your jeweler, you can always check to see if the piece you are admiring is available in white gold. Most custom jewelry and bridal jewelry can be ordered in either, but some ready-made fine and fashion jewelry cannot.

DIAMONDS AND WHITE GOLD. Most diamonds are set in white gold "heads" (what holds the stones), even if they are on a yellow gold "shank" (the ring body), because white gold highlights the whiteness of the stone and can even make a slightly yellow stone look less yellow. That's why when you get an appraisal and the stone is already mounted, the appraiser cannot give you an exact color for your diamond. Instead you're given a range of colors the stone falls into. To get an accurate measure of color, the stone must be taken from the mounting.

Here at Mrs. Gottrocks, we have a broad selection of white gold jewelry, and are expanding our line everyday. We hope this information has been of assistance to you as you shop. Please feel free to email us with your questions or suggestions for future topics.