White gold wedding rings are trendy
In nature, pure gold is only available in yellow. Gold can be processed, however, to change its colour. White gold wedding rings having an extra shine are highly popular. Diamonds also remain sparkling white as they cannot absorb the golden colour.
The growing popularity of white gold wedding rings
For years, golden wedding rings were the most common. In the meantime, however, more personalised and special weddings rings have become increasingly popular. As a result, golden yellow is replaced by white gold wedding rings, weddings rings are finished with diamonds, with personalised engravings, with or without structure, shiny or matt, and so on. White gold is often also combined with other gold colours, such as yellow or red.
White gold wedding rings for a contemporary look
White gold ensures a more modern, sterner and more contemporary look. White gold was developed as an alternative to platinum, for those who wanted gold, but not its golden colour. White gold wedding rings look more like silver, but have stronger and more precious qualities. As gold is subjected to processing to obtain white gold, it is more expensive to buy than pure gold. The value of white gold, however, does not increase after this process. In order to achieve the fully desired colour, white gold can be plated with a rhodium topcoat. White gold often consists of white 8 ct gold, white 9 ct, 585 gold, or 750 gold.
How do white gold wedding rings get their colour?
There are various procedures to create white gold wedding rings. White gold can be composed of gold and palladium. As the composition with palladium is more expensive, however, manganese is also often used, resulting in a greyer colour.
Cheaper nickel was frequently used too. The composition with nickel, however, is no longer applied within the European Union due to the release of nickel and its many allergic reactions. That is the reason for often using a mixture of gold and silver.
All these mixed materials have a white colour and can therefore give the overall alloy a white colour. In this way, the composition with gold is named white gold. It is still possible, however, to refine the pure gold out of the alloy and return it to its pure, yellow colour.
Gold can also be rhodium-plated, whereby a thin rhodium layer is applied to the outside of the jewel. A rhodium layer allows white gold to get an even whiter shine. It is possible, however, that after a certain time the rhodium layer wears off and the golden colour of the white gold wedding rings becomes visible again.
White gold wedding rings fit nicely
White gold wedding rings can also be combined with other gold colours, such as yellow or red. Besides white, gold jewellery can also get other colours through mixing the gold with other metals. This way gold can get a red, pink, green, bleu or purple colour.
Sometimes palladium rings are chosen instead of white gold ones. Palladium is similar to gold, but it is cheaper. For an even cheaper version, palladium can be combined with silver, whereby the palladium ensures both colour and shape preservation.
Besides white gold wedding rings, it is also possible to choose titanium wedding rings or vintage rings. At the better class of jewellers you will also find the high-quality collections of Van den Bosch en Van Ranst, including Traditions, AMICI, and Mémoire.