Question about white gold

mrs.oroblanco

Silver Member
Jan 2, 2008
4,356
427
Black Hills of South Dakota
Detector(s) used
Tesoro Lobo & Garrett Stinger
Primary Interest:
All Treasure Hunting
58.33Au, 14-28Cu, 4-28Ag - 14 carat gold (58.33 gold, 14-28% copper, 4-28% silver)

91.66Au, 4.16Ag, 4.16Cu Gold 22 carat (91.66% gold, 4.6% silver, 4.16% copper)

75-85Au, 8-10Ni, 2-9Zn White gold - (75-85% gold, 8-10% Nickel, 2-9% Zinc)

This is in percentages, of course.

B
 

Wrekless

Tenderfoot
Feb 19, 2008
5
1
NC
Detector(s) used
Garrett ACE 250
The jeweler we talked to informed us that a lot of it might be slightly different in composition but a lot of it will turn yellow over time. The reason for this is that they do a Rhodium plating when they make it and that it should be re-plated every so often. They only wanted 35$ or so to do this.
 

OP
OP
d2

d2

Bronze Member
Mar 18, 2005
1,515
981
Arkansas
Detector(s) used
Tesoro/Cibola Garrett ATPro
Primary Interest:
Relic Hunting
Thanks for the info. My class ring is white gold, I graduated in 76 :-[ and was just wondering. Thanks again...d2
 

jewelerdave

Hero Member
Aug 29, 2007
848
96
Fort Collins, Colorado
Detector(s) used
I just follow my nose!...where the silver and gold goes!
Minelab 5000, Goldmaster, and a few others
XRF spectrometer, Common sense.
Primary Interest:
Prospecting
NO NO NO NO NO.

If you dont know the correct answer, dont post false info or guesses.

Everything above this post is Wrong expect for the % above about white gold.

What is White gold...Its an alloy of Gold, and can be either alloys of Nickel or Palladium.

BOTH Nickel and Palladium turn anything they are alloyed with White or gray. but take on the luster of the metals its alloyed with.
Go get a nickel out of your pocket, and look at it. That nickel your holding is 75% copper, and 25% nickel, that %25 is enough to make the metal white. When you mix it with gold you get the same thing.

So yes, its Gold, it contains gold, and is the same karat as designated.

So because there is gold in it, sometimes it can take on a yellow Hue over time, Depending on the alloy. White gold can be 18k, 14k or 10k. All containing Gold AND NO FRIKKIN SILVER. unless with palladium. But most American white gold has no palladium.
When you mix silver with gold you get a green gold color, Its how you make green gold. not white. If you mix nickel with gold and silver you get a very brittle unusable alloy.
White gold is Gold, Nickel, and copper and a trace of zinc and boron as de oxidizers.
Some people have an allergic reaction to Nickels so the only legal alloy for modern white gold in Europe is palladium White gold. Its Hypo Allergenic.
The reason some people turn white gold a yellow hue is due to there body leaching out the nickel and leaving the gold behind. Or it can be due to poor alloying.

Often times commercial jewelry is plated with Rhodium, Some of the newer white gold alloys done need this done now.

I cant emphasize enough the importance of getting facts straight. Dont guess if you "really" know. You never know when an expert is going to come along and make you look very bad.
 

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