Everything You Need To Know About White Gold
Posted on: 23/08/2017Every day we get tons of customers walking through our doors wanting to look at our beautiful white gold. Whether its white gold engagement rings, white gold diamond rings, white gold necklaces, white gold chains or white gold bracelets, everyone wants to try on this sparkling mirror-like precious metal. This leaves a lot of our customers wondering "What actually is white gold?" read on to find out...
What is white gold?
We all know of yellow gold - a shiny, bright yellow precious metal that symbolises the light of the sun. Even though yellow gold is still popular, over the past 7 years or so we've seen a huge interest in white gold. Customers have switched from traditional yellow gold wedding rings to white gold ones. The public have chosen white gold chains over yellow gold chains, and swapped yellow gold bracelets for white gold ones - tradition has been thrown out of the window, and this continues even now!White gold is made from yellow gold and light coloured alloys like palladium. Once the white gold jewellery item has been made it gets dipped into a rhodium solution which gives it its final chrome glow: this process is more commonly known as "rhodium plating" and is applied to all white gold jewellery to enhance it's colour and shine.
Advantages of white gold jewellery
Besides from the beautiful chrome shine, having white gold jewellery can serve a number of different purposes:- White gold is a cheaper alternative to platinum - if you're looking for a platinum look but you don't want to break the bank, white gold is the perfect option
- Because white gold is rhodium plated it protects the gold underneath from shallow scratching and scuffing
- White gold is a chrome white colour, so it is easily matched with different coloured stones and gems - you'll have a lot of choice!
- And of course, it looks beautiful!
Keeping your white gold shiny
At F.Hinds, we recommend our customers rings re-plate their white gold rings every couple of years. However if you work with your hands or if you come in contact with different chemicals frequently (like cleaning products), it may need to be done more frequently. So really depends on how you look after your white gold rings. The rhodium on other white gold jewellery doesn't wear down as quickly (since it's not on your finger), so it can last longer before needing a re-plating if cared for properly.How to care for your white gold
After learning about white gold, you might be thinking "this sounds like a lot of work for white gold jewellery!" But don't be too alarmed, there are some simple steps that you can carry out to ensure that your white gold lasts as long as possible:- Remove any white gold jewellery before you carry out dirty or hands-on tasks
- Don't swim while wearing white gold as the chemicals in the water (chlorine) can react with the plating
- Remove white gold items when bathing and sleeping
- Keep your white gold away from other metals. For example don't wear a yellow gold ring next to a white gold ring, as the plating may rub off quicker
- Regularly clean your white gold jewellery with a jewellery dip
- Follow our jewellery cleaning tips and advice
Following these steps may make your white gold rhodium plating last as long as possible - it's all about how well you look after it! Believe it or not, we do get customers that have had theirs for a lot longer!
Do you prefer yellow gold, white gold or platinum? Let us know on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.
To enquire about white gold jewellery and white gold re-plating please visit your local store or contact our Online Sales Team at onlinesales@fhinds.co.uk or 01895 201040.
