WHITE GOLD GUARANTEED NEVER TO YELLOW?

A. Hi Michelle. I don't think it's so much a new technology as an acknowledgement that a lot of 'white gold' isn't white enough, such that once the rhodium plating starts to wear, the rings look yellowish. So some vendors have acknowledged the problem and are trying to minimize it.

Yes, some white gold is whiter than other white golds. But no white gold can ever approach the reflectivity of rhodium -- and we've become so accustomed to the bling, that most of us would be be disappointed by even the finest unplated white gold.

Please see our FAQ: White Gold and Rhodium Plating, Michelle, which will explain this issue pretty clearly I think.

Good luck.

Regards,

A. Hi Michelle,
I am not aware of any new casting material for white gold that will ensure that it will not be perceived as "yellowish" over time. White gold is achieved by adding an alloy such as nickel, silver or palladium to yellow gold to acquire an alloy that is "white" in color.

In reality any white gold setting using the aforementioned alloy materials will still be "grayish white" when highly polished. These alloys are enhanced commercially to a whiter appearance using another metal called rhodium. Rhodium is electroplated over the white gold to make it appear whiter. Rhodium reflects about 75% to 80% of the light striking it so it appears brighter to the human eye.

In contrast, all white gold depending on alloy content reflect only 60%-68% of the light striking it.
In other words without the rhodium plating, white gold will always appear grayer. As white gold becomes blemished with numerous micro scratches from normal wear, some of that light striking it is diffused. !

This causes the human eye to perceive some yellowish "tint" especially when inspected under sunlight. Repolishing can remove or diminish that tint, but the white gold alloy will never have the high specular quality of a rhodium plating.
There is some literature that suggests that silver and small amounts of platinum combined with yellow gold will produce a white gold that is whiter and more stable than nickel based white gold.

In the final analysis, and from a basic "physics" standpoint you are correct to be skeptical. Stay with the palladium white golds and at least avoid the nickel allergy issues.
There are at least 2 or 3 high end jewelry stores in the Detroit metro area who can help you make the correct selection.

Hope this helps, Dave

A. Others have answered most of your questions.
.32 indicates the total diamond weight (not including the center stone if it's an engagement ring.)

A. Hi John. I don't think it's oodles. Maybe $25-$75.

Luck & Regards,

A. I just wanted to add that I received an 18k white gold palladium alloy ring a year ago that I have worn everyday. I haven't noticed ANY change in color since I have received the ring. I do take my ring off when showering, doing household cleaning, etc. So, there just might be something to the theory that white gold alloyed with palladium doesn't change colors. I also have rings passed down from my grandmother that are white gold that haven't changed colors, yet the platinum rings have (they turn a strange looking grey).

A. The problem of "white gold" turning yellow has recently been addressed by the Manufacturing Jewelers and Suppliers of America, a group composed of industry leaders. They have composed a white gold index by which retailers can assess what type of white gold they are purchasing. There is a grade (1) which does not require rhodium plating and I would suspect that this is the palladium alloyed white gold. Grade 2 is considered white with rhodium plating optional and Grade 3 is yellowish and definitely needs to be rhodium plated to appear white.
As we see more and more finished jewelry coming in from India and Thailand we will have more and more problems with the white/yellow gold until such time that the manufacturers in these countries settle on a standard alloy that satisfies the consumer's demand for quality balanced with price.

! Thanks, Barry. We appreciate your insight and your effort to help. But it is still ridiculous to speak of "the consumer's demand for quality balanced with price".

I have never heard of a customer who was consulted about what "quality" of white gold they wanted their ring made of. I have never heard of a customer who wanted their engagement ring to be made in India or Thailand. I have never seen a jewelry store that labeled their white gold as plated vs. unplated, nor Grade 1 vs. Grade 2 vs. Grade 3, nor with the country of manufacture.

And with more than 30 percent of young women today condemned to the misery of nickel allergy for the rest of their life because of exposure to nickel-bearing white gold jewelry, do you know a single jewelry store that even labels their jewelry as "contains nickel"? Whereas nickel is outright banned in Europe, it's not even labeled in the USA :-(

This nonsense of yellowish, off-white, foreign-made "white gold", and tragedy of 24-hour per day exposure to allergenic nickel is 100% the fault of the manufacturers & jewelry stores and the scummy politicians which their dirty dollars have bought. Please don't attempt to shift even 1/100 of one percent of the blame to the consumers who are innocents in this and deliberately kept in the dark.

Regards,

A. Hi, Stephanie. These threads get long and confusing, so I would suggest that you read our new FAQ, Rhodium Plating & White Gold, to get a good quick understanding of the whole subject. My wife's first wedding ring (and many other people's) wore all the way through in about 20 years, so any plating will wear through much much faster than that. Rhodium is a fabulously expensive precious metal (over $7000 per ounce and still climbing rapidly); there is nothing better in concept ... but there is excellent application of a very thick layer of it in an instrument-controlled specialty plating shop, and there is very poor application of a very thin layer of it from a "teacup" in the back office of a jewelry store.

Regards,

A. X1 white gold no tinting whatsoever.

A. Well, in answer to everyone's question "is there a white gold that never turns yellow?" YES there is. I have a 14K. white gold rope chain which I've had now for about 9 years & it's never turned yellow on me. My theory is that it may be made of 58.5% Gold & 41.7% Palladium. So if this helps anyone in any way, then I'm glad to have helped. Thank You. :)

Daniel C.

A. Thanks Tony, thanks Daniel! 58.5% gold (.585 x 24 kt) means it's 14 kt.

We have heard of the Stuller "X1" that Tony speaks of, and also of W.R. Cobb's "Precise White Gold", both of which claim to be significantly whiter than most. Still, as David Vinson told us, no white gold can ever offer the reflectivity and bling of rhodium plating, and most of us have become accustomed to that.

Luck & Regards,