Tuesday, August 11, 2009

What are white gold earrings and how are they made?

Yellow is the color of pure gold. It can also appear in different colors by alloying it with some other element. White gold is obtained by alloying it with a white metal like nickel, palladium etc. White gold earrings are nothing but earrings that have been made by regular Gold which is alloyed with white metals like Nickel, Palladium, or Rhodium.

White gold earrings are very often used, because of their looks. They are mostly available in drop, hoop or stud models. They cost anything from 20 dollars to 1000’s of dollars depending on the quality.

White gold earrings are measured in carats or karats as the regular Gold earrings. The only difference between them and regular gold earrings is in their appearance. The alloying metal and its proportion will decide the property of the white gold earrings.

White gold earrings with Rhodium are most used. Rhodium plating gives the earrings the beautiful white coloring that makes them look lovely. White gold earrings made of Nickel are nice, hard and strong. Copper is used to improve the ductility of white gold jewelry.

Nickel alloy may be allergic for few people when worn over a long period of time. About one person in 8 may be allergic. Alloys of gold without nickel are less allergic.

White gold earrings sometimes tend to lose shine. However they can be easily polished by your jeweler, who will redo the Rhodium plating on the earrings and restore the original shine of white gold.

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