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White Gold, Yellow Gold, Rose Gold or Platinum?

The metal isn't simply the thing holding the stones.

It changes the colour, weight, feel, durability and personality of the entire piece.

And while gold and platinum dominate many fine-jewellery conversations, they're not the only materials we work with.

Here's the useful version.

White gold, yellow gold, rose gold and platinum — precious metals in fine jewellery

Yellow Gold

Gold in its pure form is naturally yellow.

Pure 24-carat gold is generally too soft for many everyday jewellery applications, so it is alloyed with other metals to change its strength and working properties.

18ct gold contains 75% gold.

9ct gold contains 37.5% gold.

The remaining percentage consists of alloying metals.

Yellow gold has warmth and richness and works beautifully with both diamonds and coloured gemstones.

White Gold

White gold is gold alloyed with white-coloured metals to create a paler appearance.

Many white-gold pieces are rhodium plated to give them that bright, crisp white finish.

Rhodium plating is a surface finish and can wear with time, particularly on rings.

That doesn't mean anything is wrong with the piece — it simply means it may eventually benefit from refinishing and replating.

Rose Gold

Rose gold gets its warm pink tone primarily from copper in the alloy.

More copper generally creates a stronger rose colour.

It can feel romantic and vintage or extremely contemporary depending on the design.

Platinum

Platinum is naturally white, dense and highly regarded for fine jewellery.

It feels noticeably weightier than gold and behaves differently as it wears.

Rather than relying on rhodium plating for whiteness, platinum is naturally white.

Its density, rarity and working characteristics also contribute to its cost.

And silver?

Absolutely.

Sterling silver is traditionally 92.5% silver alloyed with other metals.

It's beautiful, versatile and occupies a different place in jewellery making from gold or platinum.

Silver can tarnish as it reacts with substances in its environment, but it can generally be cleaned and polished.

So which metal should you choose?

Start with the piece rather than the hierarchy.

How often will you wear it?

What colour do you love?

What stones are going into it?

Do you like weight on your hand?

Are we remodelling existing jewellery?

Does the design require particular structural properties?

There isn't a single "best" metal.

There is a metal that makes sense for what we're creating.

Talk to us and we'll guide you through the practical differences before we make that decision together.

Reference Note

Precious-metal descriptions use standard fineness conventions and established jewellery-industry guidance.

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