What Is White Gold? Should You Be Buying White Gold or Yellow Gold?

Investment in gold often comes as help in financial distress. But as the gold market has evolved over the years, there are available 3 kinds of gold namely yellow gold, white gold and rose gold. The colour difference in each of these gold types is owing to the metal used in the alloy mixture.

Here below we’ll know in detail about white gold and whether you should be buying white gold or yellow gold?

What is white gold?

Other than the usual traditional or yellow gold, white gold also is a popular metal that is developed by combining gold alloy with a range of white metals including silver, palladium and nickel.

As pure gold is a very soft metal, in all gold jewellery forms, it is mixed with harder metals to impart strength and durability. So, in the case of white gold, the desired white colour is created with the help of silvery-coloured alloys.

Difference between White gold and Yellow gold?

Yellow gold: Natural gold is yellow in colour and under standard conditions remains stable implying that it won’t rust, corrode or tarnish. Generally the more yellow a piece of gold -the more pure it is but at the same time it is less durable. So, while making jewellery it is alloyed with some base metal to give it strength.

White gold: This is 24K gold alloyed with white base metals including silver, palladium, nickel and sometimes zinc. The karat rating of white gold is determined considering the quantity of alloy mixed. Also, the final colour of white gold shall come through accordingly.

When mixed with zinc there is still a yellow tint in white gold and then there is a rhodium plating done. Rhodium is the metal that gives white gold its colour. Further by covering the softer yellow gold alloy, rhodium makes white gold more durable.

So, as rhodium is expensive, it adds to the price of white gold jewellery and makes it pricey in comparison to yellow gold jewellery.

Should you be buying White Gold or Yellow Gold?

While its a personal choice, durability wise white gold has an edge over yellow gold. Nonetheless, the drawback with white gold is that with time, the rhodium plating wears off and the lower yellowish layer of white gold then becomes visible. Typically the plating shall disappear depending on how often you put on your jewellery.

But the point worth making here is that white gold has a lower resale value in comparison to yellow gold. This is because the alloy mixed with the gold cost less and at the same time it is implicit that the purity or Karat of your gold jewellery is diluted.

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