Yellow gold 18, 14 or 9k?

[d89s46]

Hello, I’d like to reset a diamond ring in yellow gold with platinum prongs. Gold suits me better due to my skin tone (pasty yet light olive). My question is I really dislike some of the very yellow almost neon gold I’ve seen in some stores. I’d like a more muted vintage look but not Rose gold, definitely yellow!. Can you advise on what kind of gold ie carat I should be looking at for this look? I’d like it to be durable as my band will be reasonably slim (2mm) but I really don’t like the very yellowy neon yellow gold look. Can anyone advise? Thank you

 

[MamaBee]

The lower carat your gold is the less actual gold is in the metal. So the 9k which has less gold will be a lighter yellow color..but not by much. It definitely wouldn’t be very yellow..and not neon yellow. Also, 9k will be harder and more durable..but it will have less gold.

 

[KKJohnson]

22k has a nice butter color, 18k has a brighter color, 14k is more muted but I think sometimes tends to lean toward green (most likely just the way my eyes perceive color), 9k like stared above just doesn’t have much gold at all. I have a couple 10k vintage pieces that just look fake to me

 

[peacechick]

18k and 22k are very yellow, which are nice with certain stones. If you want a pale yellow, I would go with 9k.

 

[Karl_K]

22k has a nice butter color, 18k has a brighter color, 14k is more muted but I think sometimes tends to lean toward green (most likely just the way my eyes perceive color), 9k like stared above just doesn’t have much gold at all. I have a couple 10k vintage pieces that just look fake to me

Many 18k and 14k alloys have a slight greenish to bluish tint.
9k can tarnish a lot easier so I would leave that out.
Strength wise its a toss up 14k vs 18k.
I often use 14k but many people consider 18k more luxuries.

 

[yssie]

If you don’t have any metal allergies... the five bands in the middle are different alloys of 18k unplated white gold (sandwiched by platinum and 14k yellow gold). They range from “white” to “light yellow”.



See my post in this thread for alloy details:
https://www.pricescope.com/community/threads/diamond-color-and-metal-options.191295/

Edit - to @Karl’s point - gold alloyed with silver can be a bit greenish in certain lights. Alloys with copper, which err swarthy rather than green, are more common in Asian countries.

 

[lilmosun]

For a less-bright and more muted vintage look, one might consider a brushed satin (as opposed to polished) finish.

 

[d89s46]

Thank you so much everyone. I’ve been away with work and only just figured out how to get notifications so apologies for my rude delay in reply. I think I’m even more confused! I’m not keen on unpolished or white gold look, so I do want the shiny gold look. I definitely don’t like the green or tarnished look so I think I need to look at at least 14k and see the metals in person. I’ll also read the blog post included here. Decisions...

 

[Mrs_Strizzle]

It definitely depends on the alloys, like yssie's post suggests. I definitely prefer "white" metals, yet I am in love with several "yellow" gold pieces I inherited from my husband's Mexican grandmother and wear them often. When put up against my blue spinel ring I bought on LT for the stone (set in yellow gold), it is definitely a different color. I am unsure of the alloy make up, but both are stamped 14k. So I guess my suggestion is to talk this out with your jeweler. Hopefully he/she can help you find just what you are looking for.

 

[yssie]

Thank you so much everyone. I’ve been away with work and only just figured out how to get notifications so apologies for my rude delay in reply. I think I’m even more confused! I’m not keen on unpolished or white gold look, so I do want the shiny gold look. I definitely don’t like the green or tarnished look so I think I need to look at at least 14k and see the metals in person. I’ll also read the blog post included here. Decisions...

Can you post some pictures of the gold colour/texture that you do want? That would be more helpful than explanations in text - your descriptions of “white gold look”, “unpolished”, “shiny gold look”, etc. can mean very different things to different readers.

 

[bmfang]

Another contrast. My wedding band (22k yellow gold) with my late grandfather’s platinum ring.

 

[d89s46]

Hello everyone, thanks for your replies. It is very hard to explain!

This is my ring which is 18 karat. I’m having it reset with gold and I love the colour.

What I’m seeing a lot of in my jewellers is a brighter yellow even in 18, more like this.

My question I suppose is which karat will give me the more muted yellow like my existing ring? Or is it totally dependent on the individual alloys which I can’t control?

 

[diamondseeker2006]

I am confused. You said your ring is 18k but you are having it reset in gold. So is it 18k white gold now? It looks yellow gold to me in the picture but more like 14k.

I will say that I think 18k is the richest color gold without being too yellow. Any fine jewelry I buy in yg is 18k.

 

[Maisie]

My wedding band is in 9K yellow gold. It’s a common alloy here in the UK. I’ve never had a 9K gold ring tarnish.

 

[cflutist]

I don't know how accurate this photos are but here are 4 different 18k casting grain from the Stuller website. I do see a difference in the colors.

 

[bludiva]

I think the color is definitely going to vary by jeweler...maybe explain to them what yourey looking for an see what alloys they have available? I have an 18k yellow ring and it has a brownish tinge like #3 above, it's pretty but other 18k jewelry doesn't match...

 

[d89s46]

This is so helpful thanks. I will show the jeweller these colours. To clarify my ring is currently 18k gold, the reset will use a whole new gold. I want it to look the same as the current gold. I’ll wxplain this to him. Thank you

 

[david b]

If you have a diamond I would suggest as the minimum to use 14k Yellow Gold, it is quite pale yellow if the alloy is right.
By law it is not allowed to call as "Gold" any allow that has less than 50% of gold in it, which is the case of 9k gold.