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Sunday, May 8, 2011

Help!! My white gold ring turned yellow.

Ok, Let me just put this out there... There is no such thing as white gold!OH,but you bought a white gold ring? Well, the reality is, pure gold is a bright yellow metal when you dig it out of the ground. We have to make white gold, and we do this by mixing metals, commonly known as alloying. In the case of 14 karat, this means that when you mix the gold and the alloy together, you end up with 58% of a yellow metal and 42% of a white metal (the alloy). So, if you think about it, when you make 14k white gold, you really have a whitish metal, not the pure white metal that you saw when you picked up your engagment ring or jewelry from your jeweler, but is this really the color that you want? Of course not, you want pure white, just like platinum, after all, that's what you bought. Most white gold engagement rings and jewelry have been Rhodium plated. Some people refer to this as dipping their jewelry, but this is really an electo-plate process that puts rhodium, a bright white metal in the platinum family, as a cladding over the gold engagement ring. Rhodium adheres beautifully to gold, but over time, it will wear off, and when it does, you may think that your ring turned yellow, or you may just think that it needs to be polished. Either way, when you have your engagement ring re-polished, your jeweler should add the rhodium plating back on to your ring and it will appear new again. It's an amazing transformation that resolves the question of your ring turning yellow, and I'm sure you'll love it!

3 comments:

  1. I also converted my neck less form white to yellow with rhodium plating. Now its looks more beautiful than the previous one.

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  2. It depends on how acidic your hands are. My White Gold Jewelry ring has been on my finger for over a year and it still looks great. However, I have a friend whose hands are so acidic that she has to have her ring replated at least every year!

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  3. That’s very informative, Garry. Here’s a tip for gold and white gold owners out there: to prolong the shine and life of your jewelry, avoid submerging them in any forms of chlorine. Whether in a pool, a household cleaning solution or in a hot tub, the chemicals will weaken the structure of gold which will lead to eventual damage. Lorita @ BuyingValuables.com

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