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sage & onion wrote:A ring was purchased in a Local Gold Est., after a month or so it is turning yellow, one shop says this is normal another says it is not.

I never heard of such a thing, what about you guys?, any thoughts?

Tom Jones wrote:Here is your answer:

I asked my sister who once managed a jewelery store, and she said YES.

White gold is man-made. It's an alloy of several metals as Mel correctly pointed out. It is also coated with something (I forgot what Sis said it was). She said, sure, it has a tendency to turn yellow with time as the coating wears off from exposure to chemicals, detergents and even one's own body acids. But she said it can be cleaned and/or re-coated!!!

Bora Bora wrote:As long as it doesn't turn your skin greenish black!!!!

Dillon wrote:I have a friend who has an antique jewellery business and she tells me White Gold, strictly speaking isn’t white and the higher the carat rating of the White Gold the more yellow it will appear, almost all white gold jewellery is Rhodium plated to give it a shiny mirror like finish, the quality and thickness of the rhodium plating will determine how long it will last under normal wear and tear. Rhodium is at best 5 times the cost of gold and a difficult metal to work and some unscrupulous jewellers use less precious metals and alloys for plating purposes.

For the plating to show signs of wear after only a Month is unheard of, if the discolouration is appearing on the faces of the ring which are in contact with the skin, this would suggest an inferior plating, if the discolouration is noted over the entire ring surface, this would raise questions over the quality of the piece in general and recommends the ring is taken to a reputable jeweller where both the plating and the base metal can be chemically tested for authenticity.

Hope the above helps.

Tom Jones wrote:

Dillon wrote:I have a friend who has an antique jewellery business and she tells me White Gold, strictly speaking isn’t white and the higher the carat rating of the White Gold the more yellow it will appear, almost all white gold jewellery is Rhodium plated to give it a shiny mirror like finish, the quality and thickness of the rhodium plating will determine how long it will last under normal wear and tear. Rhodium is at best 5 times the cost of gold and a difficult metal to work and some unscrupulous jewellers use less precious metals and alloys for plating purposes.

For the plating to show signs of wear after only a Month is unheard of, if the discolouration is appearing on the faces of the ring which are in contact with the skin, this would suggest an inferior plating, if the discolouration is noted over the entire ring surface, this would raise questions over the quality of the piece in general and recommends the ring is taken to a reputable jeweller where both the plating and the base metal can be chemically tested for authenticity.

Hope the above helps.

Cannot disagree! That makes a lot of sense!!!

Agreed, Thanks Dillon

benwj wrote:Ask sis if the plating done to prevent tarnishing or to produce a reflective surface?

sage & onion wrote:Thank you all for your replies, I am going to go along with the opinion that White Gold can turn yellowish depending on it's exposure to various harmfull elements. I am also of the opinion that the real deal, yellow gold, is the one to go for.

arniegang wrote:

sage & onion wrote:Thank you all for your replies, I am going to go along with the opinion that White Gold can turn yellowish depending on it's exposure to various harmfull elements. I am also of the opinion that the real deal, yellow gold, is the one to go for.

considered Platinum Sage ?

Tom Jones wrote:Here is your answer:

I asked my sister who once managed a jewelery store, and she said YES.

White gold is man-made. It's an alloy of several metals as Mel correctly pointed out. It is also coated with something (I forgot what Sis said it was). She said, sure, it has a tendency to turn yellow with time as the coating wears off from exposure to chemicals, detergents and even one's own body acids. But she said it can be cleaned and/or re-coated!!!