Today’s topic starts with the letter “W”. I didn't quite make it to use all gemstones for my blogs this month. I wasn't able to find a gemstone that started with the letter "W", but to keep with the jewelry theme, I chose White Gold for the letter "W".
White gold is an alloy of gold and at least one white metal, usually nickel, manganese or palladium. Like gold, the purity of white gold is given in karats. Alloys which are mixed with 14 parts gold and 10 parts alloy create 14-karat gold, 18 parts gold to 6 parts alloy create 18-karat gold.
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| Rhodium plated white gold |
The term white gold is used very loosely to describe karat gold alloys with a whitish hue. Many commercial pieces are plated with rhodium and people believe that is the color of white gold. “White” gold actually covers a large range of colors from pale yellow, tinted brown, and even a pale rose. The jewelry industry often improves these off-white colors with rhodium plating.
White gold properties depend on the metals and the proportions used. Nickel alloy is hard and strong and is used for rings and pins. Palladium alloy is soft and pliable and used for gemstone settings.
Some people have an allergic reaction to the nickel in some of the alloys when worn over time. Because of this, many European countries do not allow the importation of nickel white gold.
Thanks for stopping by. Be sure to come back Monday, April 28, to see if I can add some more gemstones to my list. Only three more days to go.
Carolyn
Gemstones A-Z? Awesome.
ReplyDeleteJean, visiting for the A-Z Challenge from Rantings and Ravings of an Insane Writer