Metal Guide

Our designers can work in a wide range of metals and gold alloys. These include yellow, white and rose gold, alongside platinum and palladium.

Each of these choices have different properties - refer to our metal guide below for an overview. Key  things to consider when deciding on a metal choice are your colour preference, lifestyle, and budget. 

Gold - Yellow, Rose or White?

Of all the precious metals on earth, gold is the most varied in choice. It can be worn in different levels of purity, such as 9ct, 14ct & 18ct,  as well as mixed with other metals to create a range of colours, such as rose, yellow and white gold.

Yellow Gold

Alloys with a higher carat have a higher gold content, so the metal will be closer to the pure gold colour: warm yellow. So 18ct yellow gold will be more yellow than 9ct yellow gold, as it has a higher gold content. 9ct is a soft, almost industrial yellow colour, 14ct is a mid-warm tone, whereas 18ct yellow gold is very bright yellow.

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White Gold

Like yellow gold, white gold is alloyed with other metals, to give it a cooler, whiter tone.  White Gold is a warm grey-white colour. As this alloy still appears slightly yellow, it is commonly rhodium plated, to give it a colour closer to silver. You can opt for untreated white gold, or rhodium plated, depending on your colour preference.

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Rhodium Plating

Commercial white gold jewellery normally has a layer of rhodium plating, as  this gives the surface of the metal a bright white colour, like silver, rather than its natural grey tone. As plating is a coating, it will wear off over time.

How long plating will last lasts can vary; it generally needs to be reapplied every 1 - 2 years but depending on your skin and how you wear the jewellery, it may need to be re-plated as frequently as each 6 months.  

 

Rose Gold

Rose gold alloys have the same gold content as their yellow gold counterparts. But they get their rosy/pink colour by being mixed with a larger portion of copper than silver and zinc. 

Higher carat rose gold alloys will appear more peachy since they contain more gold, which is naturally yellow. Lower carat rose gold alloys have a larger dose of copper and will therefore be more pinkish in tone.

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Palladium

Palladium is rarer than gold. It has a greyish white in colour, just slightly darker than platinum. In jewellery it is always alloyed for strength; 95% pure palladium mixed with ruthenium. Palladium is a higher price point than gold or platinum.

Platinum 

Platinum is naturally greyish white in colour, lighter in tone than palladium. Like palladium, platinum is hypoallergenic and needs no rhodium plating. It is normally a slightly lower price point than white gold.

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If you have questions about metal choices, or would like to ask any advice, get in touch - we would love to help.