What Is White Gold?

Gold in its purest form is a valuable commodity, but by combining it with other metals, we have a wide range of one-of-a-kind and fascinating objects. To manufacture jewelry with valuable stones, jewelers often use alloys instead of pure gold for many reasons, resulting in white gold. When pure gold is mixed with platinum, the final form is white gold, and it is often mistaken as silver. 

Platinum’s high price and melting point mean that it is commonly replaced with less expensive metals like manganese, nickel, and palladium in jewelry.

To make beautiful things that will appeal to clients with already high levels of sophistication, jewelers are constantly producing new and exciting metals in terms of color palettes. It’s not always apparent to the ordinary person how gold may be red or black and whether or not such pieces can be worn for a long time. 

More so than any other metal, white gold brings out the brilliance of diamonds by emphasizing their inherent purity and the depth of their color. The grade of this metal may be inferred by the quantity and karat of gold it contains. The alloy’s metal components should be taken into account as well.

Is white gold worth more than yellow gold?

White and yellow gold jewelry of the same hallmarked karat and weight is equally valuable.

White gold’s and other gold alloys’ per-gram prices are primarily determined by the quantity of pure precious metal present. So white gold created with palladium will be much more expensive than white gold manufactured with nickel alone, and the most expensive alloy is the one that contains platinum. Platinum is the most costly, yet all of them are considered noble metals. 

Even though yellow and white alloys with the same amount of gold might have very different prices due to the other alloying elements employed and the proportions of those alloying components included, the alloys are still considered gold.

Is white gold naturally found?

If you ask around, you’ll find people that’ll tell you that, yes, white gold can be found naturally. But that isn’t the case. White gold, typically a combination of Gold and Platinum, does not form naturally and is only manufactured. There is one known naturally occurring. Gold alloy is known as Electrum. 

Electrum is an alloy of silver and native gold. It is popularly called silver gold, and the silver content can account for as much as half the composition. Thin, malleable dendrites or lamellae often mine this material.

Naturally occurring white gold does not exist since the mined element is 100% pure yellow gold (referred to as 24k). Yellow gold, in its purest form, is mixed with other metals and cooked to generate white gold.

Is white gold a good investment?

Although white gold is not often used as an investment vehicle, it does have the potential to be one. Many financial experts believe while white gold can serve as a store of value, it shouldn’t be your primary choice of investment. Their reasons are clear.

The two most common ways for investors to invest their money are in stocks and bonds or into actual gold bullions. Physical bullion consists of bars that were manufactured for the sole aim of making the gold easy to invest in and store, and white gold bars aren’t as widely available as yellow gold bars. Moreover, no security exists that would allow you to invest only in white gold.

Despite this, you can purchase white gold bullion. There are also quite a number of ways you can test gold. 

White gold is mainly used for jewelry, so a lot of people buy this jewelry to get profit on resale.

While nothing is wrong with that, you must know that the jewelry price will be affected by the cost of yellow gold, which is sometimes acquired at a markup, with the extra profit being lost in the final sale.

Does white gold have good resale value?

Selling precious metals and stones requires effort, and many factors come into play to determine an item’s value. Unlike yellow gold, which retains its original value after being worn, white gold commonly loses value over time as it is used (especially in bad conditions). 

The reason for this is that white gold gets its “white” tint from an alloy that is mixed in with pure gold during the manufacturing process. Since white gold is sometimes alloyed with cheaper metals, it has a lower market value than its yellow counterpart. 

The resale value of a piece of jewelry is directly related to the weight of its pure gold content. For this reason, the market value of gold jewelry increases with the percentage of pure gold it contains.

Is white gold better than silver?

At first glance, many people will mistake white gold for silver. While white gold and silver may appear to have a similar color, silver has a more precise white tone, while white gold has a glossy shine primarily due to the rhodium coating. 

White gold and sterling silver both have appealing silver tones, but there are critical compositional differences between the two that you should know about. Both sterling silver and white gold are beautiful and luxurious metals. The two seem pretty similar, but sterling silver is distinguishable from standard silver by its higher luster. There is no definite answer to whether or not silver is better than white gold. They each have applications they’re best suited for.

• Durability: With appropriate maintenance, sterling silver may last for many years. Wearing them in the shower or the rain won’t harm them, but you should avoid exposing them to chlorinated water, strong chemicals, and even salt water. Sterling silver, if cared for and polished regularly, may look as good as new for at least 30 years before it needs replacing. To preserve your white gold jewelry in pristine condition, however, you may need to do more than just a simple house cleaning. White gold is very hard, and its rhodium coating makes it more scratch-resistant. In terms of durability, it is better than silver, but it also has shortcomings; the layer makes it more vulnerable to wear and fade, giving the metal a yellowish color. You might need to recoat the metal after some years of use. 
• Affordability: Silver is one of the minor expensive metals for jewelry, so it works well for inexpensive costume jewelry that can be easily swapped out for different looks. White gold, on the other hand, commands a premium due to its superior durability. White gold is a more cost-effective precious metal alternative than platinum but more expensive than silver.

The advantages of white gold

• For individuals who like a silvery finish, white gold is the better alternative to traditional gold colors like yellow and rose.
• White gold’s appearance is similar to platinum and silver, but it is significantly more durable than silver and far more inexpensive than platinum.
• White gold is significantly lighter than platinum but yet exceptionally strong. An ornament composed of this substance is challenging to ding or shatter. It will continue to appear even brand-new years from now.
• Many individuals prefer white gold because of its lighter weight than platinum and silver
• In comparison to gold in its purest form, gold alloys have a longer lifespan. Since pure 24-karat gold can never be any hue other than yellow, white gold is a more functional alternative for everyday life.
• It looks very similar to silver and is much harder to scratch than silver.
• Universality. You may pair them with various jewelry thanks to their impeccable appearance. White gold looks especially lovely with diamond accents, and anyone can wear it since the hue is gender-neutral.

The disadvantages of white gold

• All white gold jewelry has a rhodium coating to prevent the metal from tarnishing, but with time, this coating wears off, exposing the underlying yellow or gray hue of the gold. White gold jewelry has to have its layer redone every few years, depending on how it is used
• White gold can have nickel as one of its components. Some people have severe reactions to nickel, often used in jewelry. There shouldn’t be any problems with this until the rhodium plating has worn off. Alternatively, you can buy those made with palladium.
• As far as the eye can tell, white gold looks no different from silver or platinum, so it isn’t best for a fashion statement if you have to remind people it’s gold.

In the jewelry industry, the hue of gold is not a status symbol in and of itself. The pureness and relative abundance of the various metals used to create the alloy dictate its worth. When an alloy contains just one precious metal and no other precious metals, gold is deemed low-quality. Contrarily, an alloy of gold with small proportions of different elements, such as platinum and silver, is termed high-quality.

The most prevalent kind of gold is yellow gold, although white gold has been growing in popularity. Gold is never used alone to make jewelry; instead, it is always mixed with other, harder metals to increase its durability and white gold is the go-to option for most people.

Gold’s true worth is in being an inflation hedge and haven asset. Plus, the primary reason to acquire gold is for wealth protection and risk hedging in an uncertain world.  Our free gold buyers guide is a great place to start before purchasing gold. 

Call the precious metal experts at American Bullion: at (800) 531-6525 so you can add gold to your portfolio now!