Sound technical content, curated with aloha by
Ted Mooney, P.E. RET
Pine Beach, NJ
The authoritative public forum
for Metal Finishing since 1989
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Old white gold is better, new becomes yellowish
Ed. note; This is an interesting thread, and only one of many on the subject. Before you get too confused, you might want to start with our FAQ on Rhodium Plating and White Gold to get an overall understanding :-)
Dear Readers,
I too, have been the victim of the "white gold" scam. My (now) husband and I purchased a "white gold" ring at the mall jewelry store (I knew better, but loved the ring and bought it anyway). It came back, days before our wedding, with gouges, scratches, and a thin and lumpy re-sizing job. I have reason to suspect at least one of the diamonds were switched and, to add insult to injury, the "white gold" began to turn a faint (yet noticeable) yellow within a few weeks.
Upon returning to the jewelry store, the salesperson tried to give me the "...reacting with your skin..." gobledygook. I refuted this argument, showing her my mother's ring, which is also 14k white gold, that was purchased in 1965, worn under all sorts of circumstances (my mother was a cleaning with bleach person and NEVER took the ring off, plus I have worn it much ever since her passing). My only conclusion is that Mom's ring was alloyed with platinum (she had mentioned that) and mine was, well, not. Perhaps someone knows if the older rings, such as mine and the one that the gentleman refers to that are his Mother's and her friends, were actually alloyed with platinum instead of nickel.
I find the posting about the 2-times melting maximum to be most interesting and have come to the conclusion that these rings, like many other things in our society, have fallen prey to the "turn out as many as you can for the highest price" mentality that is now so pervasive. After all, I wonder what happened to the white gold in the rings that I have pawned over the years? The simple answer is that they have to go somewhere and in this something-for-nothing society in which we live, they have ended up in our rings of today! Sadly, greed prevails and I am looking into getting the same ring that I have made in a platinum version, by someone who is reputable.
Molly Collins- Morgantown, West Virginia, USA
2003
There is no such thing as "white" gold. Gold is Golden colored, PERIOD.
What reputable jewelers call quality "white gold" is gold mixed with another precious metal, that is white, like platinum, palladium, or rhodium. Any of these alloys will last like your mother's ring .
What HongKong jewelers call "white gold" is gold mixed with a cheaper tarnishable white metal like silver or tin or in some cases nickel. These less noble metals tarnish (oxidize) on the surface, wipe off, and leave behind golden colored real gold.
Someone said, "you get what you paid for".
Robert H Probert
Robert H Probert Technical Services
Garner, North Carolina
2003
2003
The person who said that should actually have said: "It's unrealistic to expect to get more than you paid for; but sometimes you pay for quality and don't get it."
For the couple of years that I've been aware of this white gold problem, I have been watching the jewelry stores every time I go through a mall, Robert, and I have yet to see a single rhodium plated white gold ring or other jewelry item marked as "plated". They remain unmarked because the vendors don't want the public to realize that the pieces are plated. They are afraid it will cut into sales. It's a scandal and, in my opinion, people in the metal finishing industry should be exposing it--both as a public service to consumers and to help the public understand and appreciate electroplating. We are raising a generation of consumers who will hate electroplating because it was used to defraud them in one of the most emotion-laden purchases of their lives.
Ted Mooney, P.E.
Striving to live Aloha
finishing.com - Pine Beach, New Jersey
I am responding to the "you get what you paid for" quip of Mr. Probert's letter. Mr. Probert, I did not even "get what I paid for", since I have recently found out that the ring that we bought could have been made, with better quality diamonds, in a platinum setting for less (I have gotten three quotes and all three have been less than what I paid for this apparently low-quality ring). Surely you know, that as Mr. Mooney states, there is no disclosure of any kind about plating, quality, or durability at these mall jewelry stores. Also, if someone had said, well you can have this, but it will not continue to look like this for long, or you can have this, but it is more expensive, I assure you we would have chosen more expensive and durable.
You may ask, why wouldn't we go to an "independent" jeweler? The answer is that I have had three different ones mess up a simple sizing job (every time so dreadful that it was visible to the unaided eye) and have gotten no satisfaction, in the form of a correction or refund. Perhaps taking a ring from a seven to a four is just too difficult and I am making an unreasonable request. Or, perhaps, people are no longer concerned about quality (at any price).
"Get what I paid for"? When I am fortunate enough to experience this phenomenon, you'll be the first to know.
Molly Collins- Morgantown, West Virginia, USA
2003
The jewelry industry wants happy and repeat customers and with exception of a few bad apples the industry conducts business in an honest and competent manner. When white gold jewelry is manufactured properly and rhodium plated properly the results are satisfied customers. White gold has been routinely rhodium plated by jewelry manufacturers for 70 years and has millions of satisfied customers. Rhodium, being a much harder metal than gold, preserves the polish and luster of the gold surface for longer and it is not cheap to apply. The reason stores don't label white gold as rhodium plated is because most people never heard of rhodium and such a label only confuses them. Also few people understand the terms plating or electroplating.
Neil BellRed Sky Plating
Albuquerque, New Mexico
2003
In response to Mr. Bell. I cannot buy the confusion statement. Regular gold is sold by karat, gold surface is supposed to be identified as clad, plated or filled depending on thickness of the gold. Silver must be of a given purity to be "sterling" (which varies by country). Really good white gold is more expensive than yellow gold, but it literally lasts for a lifetime. My wedding ring is 42+years old and it is as bright as when it was a month old, and that is as a chemist that did not wear gloves all that much. Failure to communicate that it is plated and allowing a person to believe it is a true alloy white gold should be sent to jail. One of the largest jewelry chains sold a couple a diamond engagement ring that was of "high" quality. Well it had a yellow tint and a huge occlusion in it. The next one had a significant chip missing from the top edge. I suggested that she get a quality certification with the next replacement-cut, clarity, color, carat- She returned with a new ring and a certificate of "high" quality- It's cut was so bad on the bottom point that the sides did not come close to being uniform. The next one was from a different store and was as advertised. So, jewelers are like used car salesmen, they will take you for whatever they can get away with.
James Watts- Navarre, Florida
2003
To make a long story short, I received a white gold engagement ring in December 2001. In December of 2002, I got married and received the white gold band. In January of 2003, my engagement ring began to yellow. So now I have a "yellow" white gold ring and a currently white gold band. It looks terrible. I am completely upset, I was unaware of the fact that white gold is plated and wears away, and I have even contemplated just redoing everything with platinum. (My husband's band is platinum, and he wanted to get my rings in platinum as well, but I went with white gold because my mother has had white gold rings for 30 years and has had no problems with them). But my question is, if I do decide to do this replating thing, should I just have both rings (engagement and band) plated at the same time? And will replating ruin the engraving inside my wedding band? Or should I just start all over (which I really don't want to do) and replace them with platinum? And if I would redo in platinum, is there any way I could incorporate my original wedding band into it somehow? Somehow hide it under the platinum ring? I mean, I want my rings to be beautiful since they mean so much to me, but right now they just look blah. Any thoughts?
Laura [last name deleted for privacy by Editor]- Trenton, New Jersey
2003
Hi Laura.
Rhodium plating is very very thin and should not affect engraving. A rhodium plated ring will be much brighter than platinum or un-plated white gold, so if you want a match, everything must be plated. Platinum is about 3x as expensive as white gold.
Regards,
Ted Mooney, P.E.
Striving to live Aloha
finishing.com - Pine Beach, New Jersey
My month-old custom-made engagement ring, which is apparently rhodium plated white gold, has a noticeable scratch on the band. From what I've read, rhodium is supposed to be hard and UNscratchable. Is this a result of a poor plating job? Is it too thin? I wasn't aware that white gold couldn't be polished because it would wear off the rhodium, but the jeweler I went to didn't give me an alternative except to say that I will just have to live w/ the scratch. Is that true? Or can replating take care of that? If you have any advice, please let me know.
DanThanh Nguyen- Los Angeles, California, USA
2003
I have had my engagement ring for just a little less than a month and it has scratches in it already. It is white gold, and I understand that most (not all?) white gold is plated with Rhodium which is hard and DOESN'T scratch. Does this mean that my ring is not plated and that I should GET it plated? If so, how much do you think it will cost and how do I find a place that will do a good job that won't wear off really fast ... I'm thinking 2-3 years ... Thanks for your help.
Vanessa Ling- Los Angeles, California, USA
2003
I went through a friend's aunt (she's an independent jeweler) to buy my fiance's engagement ring. It was (supposedly) white gold. I was told nothing about rhodium plating, nothing of the sort. Over the past month, the ring has become rather dull and has visible dings and scratches on it. From what I've read on this message board, rhodium is supposed to be hard and resistant. Does this mean that this ring is NOT rhodium plated? Or perhaps that it was too thin? Also, when we took it to a jeweler to polish, we were told that they couldn't polish it because of the rhodium. Is there any way to get rid of the scratches and dullness? They made it seem like we would just have to live with it... I am not exactly thrilled at the product I received...
Michael Fields- Los Angeles, California, USA
2003
Hi DanThanh, Vanessa, Michael. Rhodium is hard, but nothing is unscratchable.
It is true that a scratch can't be polished out without replating because the bottom of the scratch will be below the bottom of the plating, but that should not be horribly expensive. Hopefully well under $100.
Regards,
Ted Mooney, P.E.
Striving to live Aloha
finishing.com - Pine Beach, New Jersey
I bought a set of white gold rings and they've seem to be turning a little yellow underneath lately. Could it be possible?
Monica Margolis- Redondo Beach, California, usa
2003
HI there,
I was told I could design a ring that was white gold that would never wear off.... is this possible?
Many thanks,
Stephanie S. [last name deleted for privacy by Editor]student - Slough, Berkshire, England
2004
Hi Stephanie. White gold does not necessarily have to be plated with rhodium--only if you are trying to make it brilliant. Solid white gold is solid and can never wear off.
Ted Mooney, P.E.
Striving to live Aloha
finishing.com - Pine Beach, New Jersey
2004
This past January 2005 my husband purchased me a white gold wedding band set with a tulip setting. Approximately 2-3 weeks ago we returned to the store to inform them that the ring was almost completely yellow. The band was still white. The lady that works in the jewelry department informed me that it appears that the ring was not rhodium plated well and that it usually takes years for them to turn, as white gold is a derivative of yellow gold. I also informed her that I had a jeweler to look at my ring in front of me and I had been informed that my ring has a large occlusion in it. She looked at it and confirmed that indeed it does have a flaw. Well, tonight when I went to check on the status of my ring I was informed that the gemologist that inspected it stated that due to impacts of stress that my 1/2 ct diamond has a break that extends approx. 70% to the corner of the diamond. She also stated that two prongs are bent and the head is bent, however non of this was noted when the jeweler in the store looked at my ring. The gemologist also stated that, "Regretfully, due to the diamond size we are unable to repair the customer's merchandise." Needless to say to and very upset because I never even showered or washed dishes with my rings on. The gemologist mentioned nothing about why my ring is yellow. If they re-rhodium plated my ring, is it possible it could have been damaged then? Is it impossible for not to be a manufacturing defect or just a bad diamond? Is it common for a white gold ring to yellow within such a short period of time?
Tameko S. Cox- Shreveport, Louisiana
2005
2005
Come on people ... are we just that simple to think that white gold comes out of the ground white?
White gold is made from yellow gold....the use of different metals changes it from yellow to white.
Now if the wrong metals are used it WILL have a slightly more tint of yellow in it. And yes rhodium is used to make it a higher luster and a "silver" color.
But let's be real ... paint on your car fades ... you don't go back to the dealer after awhile and complain.
Rhodium WILL WEAR OFF! They even rhodium sterling silver to prevent tarnish.
And yes if it does it can be replated.
As for scratching...it does scratch and will show scratches.
Nothing is that tough except maybe titanium and who wants an engagement ring made in titanium?
I for one do tell my customers that white gold is made from yellow and in time it will wear. If the store is honest enough they should tell you.
If it is that bad and the finish is that yellow go back to the store and by all means say something. If it is a quality piece you should have no trouble but, if it's from Walmart you get what you pay for.
- Franklin, Pennsylvania, USA
Since you brought up cars, Robert: despite their thousands upon thousands of complex moving parts, they are guaranteed for years bumper to bumper and they get better & better every year. Whereas a simple piece of jewelry, which in previous generations was considered a heirloom, now often fails in weeks or months due to shoddy plating, while jewelers excuse themselves instead of fixing the problem.
It's not "come on people", it's "come on jewellers". I bought gold jeweled earrings for my wife this Christmas from a reputable nationally advertised jewelry chain at a mall store, and for the first time I was told that I needed to buy an annual service contract. If I didn't buy it, there was no guarantee whatsoever -- zero, nada, nothing -- on the earrings. In other words, if you expect a guarantee of even a year on jewelry today, you must pay $75 more than the advertised price. Things have gone from bad to worse in that business. Further, the plating industry can plate these items properly, but jewelers apparently would rather dunk the ring in a tea cup in the back room themselves, and then blame the inevitable failures from such shoddy plating practice on "body chemistry" :-)
Ted Mooney, P.E.
Striving to live Aloha
finishing.com - Pine Beach, New Jersey
I have a white gold engagement ring and a white gold wedding band, both bought at the same jewelers. I have had my engagement ring rhodium dipped once 4 months after I started to wear it and it needs it again. The wedding band however is still perfect even after 7 months of wear. Does rhodium only last a few months? Seems like my engagement ring needs to be dipped every 3 to 4 months.
Heather Gomez- Manchaca, Texas
2006
2006
Ted,
In regards to your purchase from a "reputable nationally advertised jewelry chain at a mall store". You didn't say if the earrings where white or yellow gold.
Keep this in mind, like all big corps, big jewelry chains have most manufacturers by the bank account. It's too bad that the big store can demand that what they retail to you, the customer, is priced at what we, the small jewelers like us pay for at cost. This means that the quality of the product being sold through them is either cheaply made or the quality of the stones, etc. is far under what most of us sell. Now I know people buy from places like that because they are cheaper but keep this in mind: why would they try to sell you a "service contract" if they where sure that the piece(s) where of good quality?
Some of the ways they short change you as the customer is to only thinly rhodium plate the white gold ... thus it cost them less. By the way a bottle of rhodium is very high about $225.00 per pint,and there's about 1 gram of rhodium per bottle. That's quite a bit of money which means the cost of white gold manufacturing would be higher ... meaning either pay more for white or cut back on rhodium and try to keep the cost of the piece of jewelry to the same amount as yellow gold.
Other ways they shortchange a customer is to sell something as containing say a 1/2 ct. diamond but in all reality it might be 46 to
48 pts, which will save them money and sell for less. But it is still advertised as a 1/2 ct diamond -- is this right?
I know that I was a bit harsh about the white gold issue but we as straightforward jewelers get the wrong end of this problem because of the ones who short change the customer or cut corners to save money. I do not offer a service contract but remind you as the customer that having your jewelry checked every 6 months is a must and we offer a 1 year full warranty on any piece bought from us.
How can they offer a life time warranty when we all know nothing lasts forever.
As for the heirloom piece, of course the piece that's 100 years old is sometimes better ... the cost to manufacture, health insurance, etc., was cheaper plus the cost of materials was also cheaper.
Meaning that it could be made heavier weight, etc.
But due to the cost of everything going up all the time manufacturers are trying to keep costs down which means that the weight of the piece most likely will be a bit lighter, or have less rhodium plating, etc.
It's not always a jeweler's fault because something happens, but a jeweler who is for the customer will help take care of the problem not just brush it under a rug and forget about it.
- Franklin, Pennsylvania
2006
I am sorry for all the misrepresentation of white gold. It is as Robert Mooney said, yellow gold alloyed with a white metal and rhodium plated to put a final white finish on the piece. We do inform our customers. There are jewelers out there who are loaded with yellow gold rings and they were not selling, so chose to plate them with rhodium and make them white. That will wear off much faster than if the ring was originally alloyed with a white metal. I know that the suppliers we deal with carry white gold that is alloyed the correct way. We as an independent jewelry store pick each piece we sell ourselves and therefore get quality merchandise.
Not too long ago a customer came in and saw a ring in our case that looked just like the ring she was bringing in for sizing for her husband and out of curiosity asked us what the price on our ring was. It was twice what she paid. So we took the rings out and put them under the scope, well her diamonds were so full of inclusions they looked like frozen spit, ours were clean and beautiful, her mounting was hollow and light to the feel, ours was solid and heavy. So yes she did buy a lookalike but she got what she could afford and if she felt she got a good deal with the price than what more can we say?
The moral of the story is don't always blame the jeweler. Do some homework and shop with a reliable independent jeweler who knows their stuff. Shopping on the internet is a disappointment waiting to happen.
- Hanford, California, USA
Thanks Kathleen Silva... Consumers have to start checking these things out before they spend their hard earned money.
We as independent jewelers ARE NOT out to mislead or rip people off. We rely on repeat business and cannot afford to mislead anyone. Why would anyone buy quality jewelry from a wholesale club, dept. store or any place like that when they are not in the "jewelry" business alone. As independent jewelers we only sell jewelry and service for it period. And as Kathleen said we hand pick out our jewelry. In the case of chain or others I mentioned they get what they get. People, remember, you get what you pay for.
- Franklin, Pennsylvania
2007
Well,white gold is never exist;in natural way,only in electron is silver and yellow gold in the same mine together is in natural way like yellow gold-silver color. To create pure solid white gold formula alloy's depends on what kind of precious metal they use inside.In the different formula composition the precious metal alloy have better in use; for example:Rhodium plate in the top of yellow gold is not white gold...It yellow gold with Rhodium plate...Simply it is a lie of the jewelry industry,that is white gold under a false pretension...The people loss Million and Billions of dollar for years in the jewelry plate yellow gold with Rhodium and the consumer pays to the jewelry industry's so that the jewelry be re-plated with Rhodium every year,because the jewelry loose the white color some time lees a in year...The solution is to look in the past in 1920's when your Grandmother used Ring that inside and outside is pure color solid white gold formula alloy's! In today the economy that we live in all jewelry store closes;go out of Business because yellow gold industry control the market price and lie to people to use only yellow gold with Rhodium to create artificial color to call white gold; when it is not Real white gold and it is not better, that Real pure solid white gold formula alloy's... Well, yellow gold 10k-14k-18k-22k is alloy's and with Rhodium cost more money in the jewelry industry.That Real pure solid white gold formula alloy's is better that yellow gold in life time durability.The company that have protect the formula;of pure solid white gold and guarantees the jewelry for life time;for broken or loss of white color.Wake Up!You do not need yellow gold and Rhodium;to make Real pure solid white gold formula alloy's to made jewelry's...Sincerely; Good Look all.
Raul Casiano- Baldwin Park California U.S A.
October 2, 2012
Hi folks. Again, please take a quick look at our FAQ "Rhodium Plating and White Gold" and everything will be very clear --
Some people don't want the hassle of a plated finish and that's fine. But some people want the full bling, and for those who do, nothing on earth even comes close to matching the glitter of rhodium plating. So there is nothing wrong with it as long as it is done for the right reason, in high quality fashion, on very white white-gold alloys, with the consumer aware of what they are buying. When the plating is done poorly, or on yellowish or yellow gold, or the consumer is not aware that the finish is plated, it is a big problem and it can be a deceit.
Regards,
Ted Mooney, P.E.
Striving to live Aloha
finishing.com - Pine Beach, New Jersey
October 2, 2012
Well, the web pages that you name are every day lieing to the Consumers, and they are the only ones complaining about Yellow gold alloys with Rhodium plating; because the jewelry industry, they know better, they don't complain because there make the Big money. Let's stop the ignorance about this market jewelry, a problem to the people in world who lose money, especially people from U.S.A. that need the money to protect their family. Wake Up! Yellow gold 10k to 22k alloys with Rhodium you know and everybody knows, is not white gold. This lie continues for years; don't you think it is time to Stop? To the people in America, be in prosperity. Thank you to all.
- Baldwin Park California U.S A.
October 2, 2012
I JUST HAD MY "WHITE GOLD" RING CHANGED BACK TO GOLD. THERE IS NO SUCH THING AS WHITE GOLD. GOLD IS JUST THAT. GOLD IN ORDER TO MAKE IT WHITE THERE ARE DIFFERENT PROCESSES THAT THEY USE. EVERYONE HAS DIFFERENT TASTE I JUST PREFER PURE GOLD. I WILL KEEP MY PURE 18K RING THE WAY IT WAS MENT TO BE.
- ABINGDON Maryland USA
October 25, 2014
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