The Different Colours of Gold

You may have noticed that recently rose gold has taken the world by storm. In fact, it is now one of the most popular, but there are also many other gold terms such as white gold, green gold and yellow gold. Pure gold is a golden yellow, but this doesn’t mean the others aren’t imitations.

Other colours of gold are made up of alloys. Alloys are relatively new metals that are created by combining two or more different metals together. Even the standard and most popular yellow gold is made up of alloys, unless it is pure, 24 karats.

All gold that is not 24 karats is made up of alloys. However, different coloured gold alloys are still as real as the standard yellow. Pure gold is actually a very soft metal, which is why it’s uncommon for it to be used in jewellery. Therefore, other metals like silver, copper, nickel and aluminium are added to it.

Most gold is marked 24, 22, 18, 14 or 9K to indicate how much pure gold is present. The K stands for karat, which is the system that is used throughout the world to show how much pure gold is found within an item.

-          24K is pure gold, which is unlikely to be used within jewellery.

-          22K contains 22 parts gold and 2 parts of another alloy, making it 91.6% gold.

-          18K contains 18 parts gold and 6 parts of another alloy, making it 75% gold.

-          14K contains 14 parts gold and 10 parts of another alloy, making it 58.5% gold.

-          9K contains 9 parts gold and 15 parts of another alloy, making it 37.5% gold. It is the most affordable form of gold.

White gold is created by adding nickel to the mix, though this can often cause allergies, which is when palladium is used. Palladium is another metal used to create white gold alloys. It is related to platinum, which makes it a lot more expensive than nickel.

Copper is added to make many gold-coloured alloys, but adding even more copper creates the popular pink and rose tones. The more copper that is added into the mix, the deeper the rose colours will appear.

Here at Cuttings the Jewellers, we have a range of different coloured jewellery pieces available. For example, look at this stunning white gold cluster ring and this rose gold and platinum gents watch chain.

For more information about any of the products we have available or to simply talk to a member of the team, visit our contact page.