White Gold, Platinum and Palladium in Jewellery Design

White Gold, Platinum and Palladium are beautiful precious metals and are hypoallergenic which means that they are ideal for people with sensitive skin.

There is no such thing as naturally occurring white gold. Gold itself is yellow. All of the other "colours" of gold are produced by mixing pure 24ct yellow gold with various other metals. The percentage of the other metals (copper, silver, zinc, nickel) produces the different shades of gold. Any karat other than 24ct gold (pure gold) is called an alloy. 18ct gold is an alloy consisting of fourteen parts pure gold and 6 parts other metals.

White Gold Jewellery

White gold is created by increasing the silver coloured alloys (zinc, silver, nickel) normally mixed with gold and decreasing the yellow coloured alloys like copper. 18ct white gold contains as much gold as 18ct yellow gold but is nearly white in colour [white gold still has a very faint yellowish hint unless it is plated with rhodium]. White gold is available both in 9ct and in 18ct. The 9ct white gold has less of the yellow hint.

Platinum Jewellery

Platinum is a naturally occurring white metal and has the most luminescent white hue of all metals used for jewellery design.

Being the heavier of the three precious metals, Platinum makes your jewellery feel more valuable. The durability of the metal also makes it a favourite among jewellers for claw and intricate settings.

Platinum is said to be pure, rare and eternal but comes at a higher price.

Palladium Jewellery

Palladium is remarkably similar to platinum, both physically and chemically. Like platinum, palladium has a silver-white colour and it is ideal for use in jewellery.

Palladium is a hard metal and is 40% lighter than platinum. Palladium is more expensive than 9ct but less expensive than 18ct gold and is a great alternative to Platinum if your budget is limited.