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White gold is a warm white coloured metal and is yellow gold that has been alloyed with other metals such as silver and a small amount of zinc. It is a very popular choice at the moment as it has a more modern clean appearance as compared with yellow gold but still can be perhaps regarded as the ‘traditional’ engagement ring metal choice.

All gold used in engagement rings is alloyed with other metals to make it a harder metal and suitable for setting gemstones and diamonds into, it’s the choice of these other metals that affect the colour of the metal. The proportion of gold to alloys is defined by the carat number (which measure the parts of gold out of a total of 24) in the same way that yellow gold is defined.

9ct White Gold

9 carat is a slightly yellowy white colour as compared with the 18 carat alloy.

18ct White Gold

18 carat is more of a ‘gun metal’ colour than the 9 carat alloy.

Rhodium Plating

Rhodium is pure metal that can be plated on top of white gold to give it a steely white appearance like platinum. This is a good way to achieve a bright white looking ring without the extra expense of using platinum in your engagement ring. However, this plating will wear off over time to reveal the more yellowy coloured metal underneath. The speed at which this wearing takes place can vary hugely between people, from only a few months to several years. It is simple and cheap to have a ring re-rhodium plated and Harriet Kelsall Bespoke Jewellery or any other jewellers are always happy to do this.

A lot of ‘high street jewellers’ don’t offer the opportunity for customers to purchase white gold engagement rings that aren’t rhodium plated. At Harriet Kelsall Bespoke Jewellery we talk to each customer about the pros and cons of plating or not plating rhodium over your engagement ring.

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