White gold is popular in all types of jewelry items today. White gold’s brilliant shine and stunning white coloration make it the ideal setting for gemstones and diamonds. White gold jewelry compliments other types of jewelry, including other metals. It is also so flexible, it can be worn as an elegant formal wear accessory or an everyday jewelry item.
If you’re shopping for white gold jewelry items for yourself or to give as a gift, you may be curious about how it is valued. White gold is not a naturally occurring metal. It is actually yellow gold that is alloyed with other materials, such as nickel, zinc or copper. Because it contains yellow gold, white gold is neither inherently more or less valuable than regular gold jewelry items.
When purchasing white gold jewelry, value is determined in part by karatage, just as with yellow gold. A karat is used to designate gold purity in jewelry, and one karat is 1/24 of pure gold. 18 karat gold jewelry is thus 75% gold, or 18/24 pure gold. The higher the karat, the more pure gold a white gold jewelry item contains. The minimum karat for any “gold” jewelry is 10, and all white gold jewelry should be stamped with its karatage.
The weight of a white gold necklace, ring or other piece of jewelry will affect its value. Gold jewelry that weighs more in grams is worth more than a lighter weight item.
Workmanship or how white gold jewelry is made also determines value. Today, most jewelry is made by machines rather than by individual craftsmen. Jewelry may be cast or die-struck, or created in some other way. The more intricate and time consuming the workmanship involved in creating a jewelry item is, the higher its value will be.
A final consideration in the value of white gold jewelry is the alloys used to create it and rhodium plating. Zinc, copper, nickel and other alloys can create varying colorations in “white” gold. A rhodium plating is usually used to produce a uniform white coloration when white gold is alloyed with inexpensive materials. White gold rings, bracelets and other items need to be replated with rhodium every so often as the plating wears off. In some cases, this will need to be done as often as every year.
If more expensive alloys such as palladium, silver and copper combinations are used to produce white gold jewelry, rhodium plating isn’t necessary. The result is white gold that appears so white, there’s no need for rhodium plating. This jewelry may be slightly more expensive than regular white gold items, but it will save the owner on the cost of having to replate frequently worn items on a long term basis.
One final consideration when evaluating the cost of white gold jewelry is whether or not an item contains gemstones. White gold diamond engagement rings will obviously be more valuable than a white gold ring with no stone, or with a less valuable stone.
Determining the value of white gold jewelry isn’t very different from evaluating regular yellow gold jewelry. The goal should be to find an item you love that’s also the best value for your budget in terms of karatage, weight and workmanship.
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