Yellow, White, Rose Gold, or Platinum: How to choose jewellery that compliments you

Author: Anushka Aurora
IG Link: https://www.instagram.com/asaurora/

Gold is available in four colours: yellow, white, rose and green. Choosing the perfect gold to compliment your style, skin tone and jewellery preferences can be challenging. However, we are here to help with your purchasing journey! Below, we outline primary gold colours, their characteristics and key facts that you should be aware of when making a jewellery purchase.

Yellow Gold: Classic 

Yellow gold is an alloy of pure gold, silver and copper or zinc, resulting in the yellowish hue that we generally associate with yellow gold. Carat, denoting the amount or weight of pure gold, represents the presence of a higher amount of gold for a higher carat number. This follows with a stronger hue and also a spike in the price. 

Interestingly, yellow gold is the most hypoallergenic gold colour, meaning it is perfectly suited to those with sensitive skin. Additionally, it does not require as much maintenance as the other golds, seeing as it is in its purest form. However, it’s high purity level does have drawbacks, as it is more susceptible to dents and scratches.

White Gold: Universal 

White gold is an alloy of pure gold and other metals such as zinc, nickel and copper. These metals give white gold its strength and colour. White gold rings are usually made with 18 carat gold, which is 75% pure gold and 25% alloy metals. 

White gold is a consistent favourite around the world, especially for engagement rings and white diamond jewellery. One thing to bear in mind with white gold is that the colour will most likely  ‘yellow’ over time, meaning it will need to be re-dipped to maintain its white gold colour. 

At Jaipore, we are experts at restoration, meaning we can restore your jewellery items to their former glory, as well as re-dip your gold items to restore or change their colour. 

Rose Gold: Stylish 

This metal is well-known for its feminine, rosy pink hue. Rose gold is a combination of pure gold and reddish-brown copper, with a hint of silver. Higher levels of copper denote a lower gold percentage and result in a deeper and a darker rose hue. However, as copper is an extremely durable metal, it adds strength and durability to rose gold jewellery. 

Although rose gold is both beautiful and unusual, it tends to be a seasonal gold, which goes in and out of fashion with fashion retail trends. As such, if you’re looking for more consistency, opt for either yellow or white gold. 

Platinum: Luxury 

Platinum is a naturally white metal and possesses similar qualities to white gold, however, it holds on to its shine and colour more so than white gold. It is extremely resistant to tarnishing and corrosion and is unreactive, which means it doesn't oxidize and is unaffected by common acids.

Platinum is roughly 40-50% more expensive than gold as it has 95-98% platinum composition, meaning it is extremely pure and more of it is needed to make a piece of jewellery. Platinum is becoming a popular choice for engagement rings and white diamond jewellery. 

How to choose your metal

Choosing your perfect jewellery, metal or gold is an entirely personal choice, however, below, are some factors to consider:

Skin Tone

Although all metals can look amazing on all skin tones, as a rule of thumb, yellow gold is best suited to warmer skin tones, such as olive, golden and brown. Whereas, white gold compliments cooler or pinkish skin tones. And what about rose gold? This type of metal comprises both warm and cold tones and thus, it is universal in terms of skin tone and will look great on everyone!

Trends

The popularity of gold and metals alter with the trends in fashion, as well as the economy. There was a time when even yellow gold fell behind in the mid 1990s, causing the price of yellow gold to plummet. During this time, white gold rose in popularity, both in everyday jewellery as well as wedding rings/engagement rings, and it has remained a universal favourite ever since. 

Currently, yellow gold is making a big comeback, and rose gold, the feminine beauty, is getting its share of the spotlight. The popularity of rose gold is on the rise and people are realizing its versatility for looking magnificent on all skin tones.

While these are some of the factors to consider before buying jewellery, at Jaipore, you can always choose a metal and have it re-dipped to suit your preferences and style.