Old White gold vs. New white gold

[mijamajasky]

Question, my grandmother gave me a white gold ring a few years ago(the old school solitaire with a jacket)...anyway, I have worn that ring like crazy - cleaning etc and not once has it had to be ''dipped'' however, I have other white gold rings - one just purchased a little over a year ago - and those ring shave al had to be re-dipped, and those are ring not worn on a daily basis...any ideas why???

 

[LostSapphire]

MY QUESTION TOO!

My original e-ring from 1986 had a WG head with YG shank. NEVER dipped. Looked white until I lost it....

I also have a set of diamond studs in WG. I have worn them every day for over 25 years. still look white.

So when I see these posts re: dipping, I kinda go, "huh"?

Anyone have an answer?

 

[Sparkles22]

I wondered the same thing, because my mom has a WG ring she has worn for at least 30 years still bright white! And I have to replate mine (granted on 2 diff people, but still.. monthly replating). Hers is 18k we thought that might be it. I changed my rings to platinum as I got annoyed trying to keep them "white".

 

[strmrdr]

nickel

old WG was high nickel but because a lot of people develop a reaction too it the amount has been reduced or replaced.

 

[Cleo]

Oooh, this is a great place to add a question I''ve had in my mind too.

My sister has an 18kt white gold e-ring and is shopping for a wedding ring.

She visited a jeweller that told her it didn''t matter if she chose a wedding ring in 18kt or 9kt white gold as "the base metals are different than they used to be, and it won''t make a difference in terms of wearing away the prongs on the engagement ring".

Now, unless there''s a standard alloy for 18kt white gold, I don''t see how she can be sure of what metals my sister''s e-ring is made of (she didn''t buy it there) - and this just struck me as a bit..... dubious.

So - I would be really grateful if someone can tell me... does it make a difference if she buys an 18kt or 9kt white gold wedding ring?

x x x

 

[DiamondGirlHH]

Lately I hear a lot of manufacturers are using 18K white gold with Palladium alloy instead of the old nickel mixture alloy. The Palladium alloy 18K White gold looks more white almost Platinum tone without having to be dipped in Rhodium (Plating).

I guess the main reason for this is that Rhodium is so expensive right now it doesn''t make sense for them and the second and more important reason is plating has to be re-applied every so often so without the dipping there is no need to go back to the jeweler and re-dip it.

There is a big difference in color between 18K and 9K gold so only way to make both to look same is to have them both plated with Rhodium but this is not a permanent solution. When I used to work in the jewelry store we had to clearly explain it to our customers that the plating eventually will come off depending on your usage of the jewelery and the amount of coating had been applied during the platinum process.

Here are the two main 18K Gold combinations: (Ref: Precious Metalsmith)

18k Nickel White Gold:
75% fine gold and 25% nickel, fine silver and other alloys. It is difficult to completely camouflage the rich yellow-orange color of fine gold with only 25% alloy. So this white alloy is a deep grey with a yellowish tint. Most 18k white gold jewelry one sees in stores is rhodium plated. Rhodium is a platinum group metal and is used to plate because it is scratch-resistant and a bright grayish white color.

18k Palladium White Gold:
In this gold alloy, palladium, fine silver and other alloys are used to create a glossy medium grey color. This gold alloy has the distinction of being the only gold alloy that uses an alloy of greater value than the gold itself. Palladium is a platinum group metal and a deep grey color (see below). As opposed to nickel white gold, palladium white gold is malleable, not brittle, yet very strong and durable. This is also a hypo-allergenic choice, being totally composed of non-reactive metals.

Also here is a good page to read further:

http://journal.pricescope.com/Articles/47/1/An-Overview-Of-Common-Alloys-Used-In-Jewelry.aspx


Common Alloys in Jewelry - PriceScope Journals

 

[oldminer]

"This gold alloy has the distinction of being the only gold alloy that uses an alloy of greater value than the gold itself"

At the present time Palladium is just over 1/2 the price per ounce of gold. Gold is at $945 per ounce today and Palladium is at about $500.

Something of interest to consider. Gold is alloyed "by weight". When you have 14 karat gold there is actually more alloy "by volume" than gold. Gold has a higher specific gravity than any of the alloys used to make it 14 karat. It takes more alloy than gold "by volume" to create 14 karat gold. By weight, 14 karat gold is 14/24 pure gold. By volume, 14 karat gold is less than 12/12 pure. I have to give a hand to those sly old time metal guys who created a way sell less for more hundreds of years ago. Human trickery has early roots.

If you were trying to alloy gold to 14 karat using feathers, you would barely be able to find the gold.....just joking, of course.

 

[mijamajasky]

So can you request the ring be done with a nickel based product or is it obsolete?

 

[oldminer]

Nickel poses a health risk and allergy problems which many casting houses and manufacturers are getting away from. No nickel is used in the EU and probably it will be this way in the USA before long.

 

[Hest88]

From what I understand, when white gold was developed in the 1920s silver and palladium were the primary alloys, which gave the rings a silvery finish without plating. Over the years, cheaper nickel became more popular necessitating plating with rhodium. My sister has a ring from the 1920s that looks as silvery as, I suspect, the day it was made.

I don''t see why anyone would choose to buy a white gold ring with the regular old 18k/14k nickel alloy if they knew they had an alternative, unless they really like the chrome finish of rhodium plating or have some allergy that makes the rhodium plating a safer bet.