Guide to Gold

Gold has been widely used for jewellery throughout history. Pure gold is too soft for daily wear and is often combined with other metals to enhance its strength and durability.

Gold has some appealing qualities, making it suitable for jewellery.

Rare

Gold is highly valuable as it is extremely rare and requires intensive labour to mine.

Durable

Gold does not rust, corrode, oxidise or tarnish. These lasting qualities make gold an ideal metal for jewellery as it can virtually last forever.

Workable

Gold is the most malleable precious metal. While it is too soft for everyday wear, it can be alloyed with a mixture of other metals such as silver, copper, nickel and zinc to give it strength and durability. It can also be stretched or flattened into shape and melted and re-used.

Colour

Pure gold is “yellow” in colour. However, gold jewellery can be found in different colours depending on the type and percentage of metal alloys added. The most common colours are yellow, rose and white.

Yellow Gold - Gold is measured in carats, with 24 carats representing 100% gold. Gold jewellery is often made from 18 carat gold, which is a mixture of 75% pure gold with 25% another metal alloy.

White Gold – White Gold is made from a mixture of pure gold with white metals such as palladium or silver, with 18 carats white gold consisting of 75% gold and 25% white metals. Due to the composition, jewellery made from white gold has a slight yellow tinge. White gold jewellery is typically plated with a shiny white metal called rhodium to enhance its whiteness. Over time, the rhodium plating may wear off, revealing the original slight yellow colouring. The jewellery can be taken to a jeweller to re-plate to restore its whiteness.

Rose Gold – Rose Gold has a pinkish tone created by combining pure gold with a larger proportion of copper in the metal alloy.

Buyer’s Tip

Gold is the most widely used metal for fine jewellery as it has more lasting qualities than silver and is relatively more affordable than platinum. The colour of gold jewellery chosen can affect the look of your jewellery, with some people choosing the colour based on what best matches their skin tone.

Yellow gold is suitable for those who prefer a traditional look.

White gold is currently the most popular choice, offering a more modern look. For quality diamonds and beautifully coloured gemstones, we recommend a white gold setting to enhance the stone’s brilliance. This is a less expensive alternative to platinum, and while being less durable it achieves the same look.

Rose gold is a beautiful choice for two-tone jewellery or matching sets of rings.