White Gold Jewelry
White gold is not silver. People often times refer
to white gold as silver since it appear and feel like the latter. Partly it is
true, since in reality white gold is an alloy of gold and another white metal
usually silver or palladium.
The combination of silver or palladium eliminates
the yellow gold look and creates the rather white silver appearance. But even
if it is an alloy, white gold is still measured in Karats just like ordinary
gold. Other white metals used to combine with gold include nickel and platinum.
Each metal used to combine with gold yield varying
properties. A nickel based gold alloy, for example, creates a strong and hard
metal which makes it ideal to be used for rings and pins. While, white
gold-palladium alloys are relatively softer and flexible which make them great
for gemstone settings.
However, the disadvantage of using white
gold-nickel alloy in body jewelry is that is could cause various skin reactions
since nickel is not bio-compatible. Some may have very mild reactions to the
metal with only mild itchiness and skin rashes. However, these reactions might
turn uglier if they lead to infections. It is therefore best to consider your
body chemistry first before buying any type of body jewelry.
Nevertheless, white gold is quite popular as body
jewelry. You could find white gold gemstone rings, ladies jewelry, nipple and
navel rings, nose studs, earrings and tongue piercing. The reliability of the
material has been proven. A lot of people compare white gold to platinum
especially when both are used in body jewelry.
Platinum is better as far as jewelry is concerned
since it is more abrasive resistant than any other metal available. It has a
real white color unlike white gold which is actually a grey steel-like color.
Platinum is heavier than gold and last longer. However, the most
disadvantageous part in platinum based body jewelry is the costs. Whether you
believe it or not, pure platinum costs a lot more than gold.
Actually, white gold was created exclusively for
jewelry precisely to find less costly alternative for platinum. It was in the
1920s when the alloy was first manufactured for the jewelry and gem industry.
Today, the alloy is a well established material
for body jewelry and has its own fashion sense and value. White gold is often
used as settings for diamonds and other gemstones enhancing their appeal. Like
what was mentioned earlier, white gold is also measured by means of karats.
However, white gold can only be produced up to 21 karat.
Now when hear a higher karat white gold, it
doesn’t mean the gold is whiter. White gold is a combination of gold and other
metals. The color is affected by the properties of the metals we add to gold
and not the amount of gold. Basically, white gold can be either nickel-whites
or palladium-whites.
The main difference of which is that nickel-white
gold have a colder white color wherein the palladium whites’ color is a little
warmer. Also it is very hard to achieve a good nickel white unlike with
palladium whites which tends to be softer thus easier to process. Because of
the price of palladium, however, palladium whites are a little more expensive.
When buying white-gold jewelry, always remember that
majority of white gold on the North American market are nickel-whites. The
problem with nickel is that around 12-15% of people are allergic to the metal.
Skin contact with nickel can cause red skin rash or irritation.
