page_title: Colored gold
section_title: White gold
hierarchical_section_title: Colored gold / Alloys / White gold
caption_attribution_description: White gold (palladium gold alloy) ring with rhodium plating
context_page_description: Pure gold is slightly reddish yellow in color, but colored gold in various other colors can be produced.
  Colored golds can be classified in three groups:
  Alloys with silver and copper in various proportions, producing white, yellow, green and red golds. These are typically malleable alloys.
  Intermetallic compounds, producing blue and purple golds, as well as other colors. These are typically brittle, but can be used as gems and inlays.
  Surface treatments, such as oxide layers.
  Pure 100% gold is 24 karat by definition, so all colored golds are less pure than this, commonly 18K, 14K, 10K, or 9K.
context_section_description: White gold is an alloy of gold and at least one white metal (usually nickel, silver, or palladium). Like yellow gold, the purity of white gold is given in karats.
  White gold's properties vary depending on the metals used and their proportions. As a result, white gold alloys can be used for many different purposes; while a nickel alloy is hard and strong, and, therefore, good for rings and pins, gold–palladium alloys are soft, pliable, and good for white gold gemstone settings, sometimes with other metals, like copper, silver, and platinum, added for weight and durability (although this often requires specialized goldsmiths). The term white gold is used very loosely in the industry to describe karat gold alloys with a whitish hue. It is a common misconception that the color of the rhodium plating, which is seen on many commercial pieces, is actually the color of white gold. The term "white" covers a large spectrum of colors that borders or overlaps pale yellow, tinted brown, and even very pale rose. The jewelry industry often conceals these off-white colors by rhodium plating.
  A common white gold formulation consists of 90 wt.% gold and 10 wt.% nickel. Copper can be added to increase malleability.
  The strength of gold–nickel–copper alloys is caused by formation of two phases, a gold-rich Au–Cu, and a nickel-rich Ni–Cu, and the resulting hardening of the material.
  The alloys used in jewelry industry are gold–palladium–silver and gold–nickel–copper–zinc. Palladium and nickel act as primary bleaching agents for gold; zinc acts as a secondary bleaching agent to attenuate the color of copper.
  The nickel used in some white gold alloys can cause an allergic reaction when worn over long periods (also notably on some wristwatch casings). This reaction, typically a minor skin rash from nickel dermatitis, occurs in about one out of eight people; because of this, many countries do not use nickel in their white gold formulations. Gold is rarely pure gold, even before another metal is added to make a white gold alloy, and often contains a mercury alloy from its production, which can cause an allergic reaction.
caption: Rhodium-plated white gold wedding ring
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