subject: How To Determine Value When Shopping For White Gold Jewelry [print this page] Today white gold is a popular choice for all types of jewelry. Its beautiful white coloration and brilliant shine make white gold the perfect setting for diamonds, rubies and other gemstones.
White gold jewelry compliments other types of jewelry, including other metals. It's also incredibly flexible as it can be elegant enough to function as a formal wear accessory, yet basic enough for everyday wear.
If you're shopping for white gold jewelry items for yourself or to give as a gift, you may be curious about how it is valued. White gold is not a naturally occurring metal. It is actually yellow gold that is alloyed with other materials, such as nickel, zinc or copper. Because it contains yellow gold, white gold is neither inherently more or less valuable than regular gold jewelry items.
When purchasing white gold jewelry, value is determined in part by karatage, just as with yellow gold. A karat expresses the purity of the gold in the jewelry, and a karat is 1/24 of pure gold. 18 kt gold jewelry for instance is thus 18/24 pure gold, or 75% gold. The higher the karat, the more pure gold a white gold jewelry item contains. The minimum karat for any "gold" jewelry is 10, and all white gold jewelry should be stamped with its karatage.
The weight of a white gold necklace, ring or other piece of jewelry will affect its value. Gold jewelry that weighs more in grams is worth more than a lighter weight item.
Workmanship or how white gold jewelry is made also determines value. Most jewelry today is not handmade, but is machine processed instead. Jewelry may be cast or die-struck, or created in some other way. The more intricate and time consuming the workmanship involved in creating a jewelry item is, the higher its value will be.
A final consideration in the value of white gold jewelry is the alloys used to create it and rhodium plating. Zinc, copper, nickel and other alloys can create varying colorations in "white" gold. White gold made with inexpensive alloys is usually plated with rhodium so it appears a uniform white color.
White gold rings, bracelets and other items need to be replaced with rhodium every so often as the plating wears off. In some cases, this will need to be done as often as every year.
An alternative to rhodium plating involves using more expensive alloy mixtures such as silver, palladium and copper. The result is white gold that appears so white, there's no need for rhodium plating. This jewelry may be slightly more expensive than regular white gold items, but it will save the owner on the cost of having to replate frequently worn items on a long term basis.
One final consideration when evaluating the cost of white gold jewelry is whether or not an item contains gemstones. White gold diamond engagement rings will obviously be more valuable than a white gold ring with no stone, or with a less valuable stone.
Shopping for white gold jewelry and determining value isn't much different than shopping for regular gold. The goal should be to find an item you love that's also the best value for your budget in terms of karatage, weight and workmanship.
