A concise guide to Men’s White Gold Jewelry

The ultra fashionable pre 1930’s saw the popularity of white gold come unto it’s own, this sudden rise to fame was fueled by the fact that Platinum, a higher-priced metal gained in status and appeal. At this stage in history the little know white gold came about as a result of countless experiments blending and infusing different metals (commonly known as alloys) to the naturally occurring yellow gold to create an almost entirely new material that master jewelers just could not get enough of.

White gold is comprised of a range of metals – yellow gold being the base metal. The standard term used for infusing precious metals is called alloying. Due to it’s inherent unique metallurgic properties Gold, in particular, takes very well to alloying and being mixed and combined with other metals. The three major elements that make gold a popular choice for jewelry making is that firstly it is a valuable and sought after metal secondly it is very malleable which basically means that it is a very soft metal – too soft to be used on it’s own. The third property that is worth mentioning is it’s ductility which compliments the malleable side with it’s ease of use and flexibility.

Gold is measured and rated it carats which is a description of is purity. The English isles use 9 and 18 Carat gold ratings as measurements of purity. The east have a totally different view on gold purity ratings and a 22 carat gold bracelet would be the choice reserved exclusively for the ultra wealthy. In the US a 14 carat rating is the most favorable. Pure gold is rated at 24 carats and is reserved exclusively for investment and banking purposes, besides it is far too soft to be crafted into jewelry.

Silver is one of the most common metals used in the alloying process in the production of white gold. It is less expensive than gold and is also easy to work with. On rare occasions and for specific purposes only Palladium is used in white gold it does however have a couple of shortcoming with respect to the cost (more expensive than gold) and the higher melting point.

Once the alloying process has been completed it is now time for the final and arguably the most important step in the production of white gold, plating the piece in Rhodium. Rhodium is a more costly metal that gold but it adds that highly reflective finish that is the unmistakable characteristic of white gold. Rhodium does however wear off, and needs to be re-plated – depending on wear and tear every couple of years should be fine. The making of white gold jewelry is a more pricey exercise that making traditional yellow jewelry – hence the higher retail cost of white gold.

There are a number of points that need to be noted when cleaning your white gold jewelry. The first and most important warning is that you should never dip your white gold in silver as it has a negative reaction to silver and comes out looking black and permanently tarnished. A gentle polish with certified jewelry cleaning cloths is your best bet. As mentioned above it is wise to keep re-plating you white gold jewelry every couple of years to keep it looking brand new.

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