Have you ever heard the phrase “all that glitters is gold?”
When it comes to gold, and more importantly gold jewelry, are all those glittery shades of gold truly considered gold? And if so, how many different colors of gold are there?
What Makes Different Colors of Gold?
Gold jewelry can come in a range of hues depending on the metal with which it is alloyed. From pure yellow gold to white, shimmering blends, the secret to each gold color’s hue lies in the specific ratio of its alloy.
Pure Yellow Gold
The stereotypical “gold” color that first comes to mind for many is the dark yellow of a bar of gold. This reddish-yellow gold color is what gold looks like plucked straight from the Earth, in its purest, most natural form.
When gold is alloyed, or mixed, with other metals to create more durable, wearable works of art, its color ends up changing as well. Here are a few of the more common and popular gold variations:
White Gold
First created in the early 1900s and popularized in the 1920s, white gold is formed when gold is alloyed with another paler metal, such as nickel, zinc, platinum or palladium, to create a silvery-white finish. To achieve an even whiter, more durable finish, the alloyed metal is plated in a precious, corrosion-resistant metal like rhodium.
Rose Gold
Rose gold is an alloyed metal created by mixing pure gold with copper. Copper is what lends this gold its rosy color. Most rose gold jewelry is made of alloys that are 14-karat gold (roughly 58% pure gold, 42% copper). 18-karat rose gold has more yellow, natural gold in it (75% pure gold, 25% copper), which makes it look brassier colored (i.e., not so rosy). When most people think of rose gold, they’re thinking of that soft, burnished look, and this is best achieved with 14-karat gold.
Beyond the Typical: Unique Colors of Gold
Sure, everybody’s heard of the yellow golds, white golds and rose golds of the world. But what about the greens? Yes, green gold! And red, blue, purple and black! These colors are achieved in one of two ways: either by oxidation, or by alloying another metal with a base gold color.
Green Gold
The knowledge of green gold’s existence dates back as far as 860 BC. This gold and silver alloy occurs naturally, has a pale lemon color and is known as electrum. Synthetic alloys of gold and silver are chemically similar to electrum but are known as green gold.
Another metal that can be added to gold to create a green color is cadmium. However, cadmium is quite toxic and unfortunately is still sometimes found in jewelry, including inexpensive children's jewelry.
Red Gold
Red gold is like rose gold except that it has a higher concentration of copper (about 50% gold, 50% copper), giving it more of a rust-red color as well as an extra hardness and strength. Although copper is corrosion resistant, over time it can oxidize, causing the skin in contact with it to turn green. No need to worry, though. The green residue is not harmful and can be cleaned off using soap and water.
Blue Gold
Blue gold can be developed by blending gold with either gallium or indium. Gallium creates a blue tint during oxidization while indium has a natural blueish-indigo coloring. Both metals are quite soft, making these alloys less-than-ideal for jewelry making. However, blue-hued gold can also be achieved by creating an alloy made of gold, iron and nickel, which is then treated to create a blue oxidization. Blue gold jewelry requires specific alloying and may involve special techniques. Therefore, such jewelry is less common and can be more expensive.
Purple Gold
Purple gold, sometimes known as “amethyst gold” in honor of its signature birthstone, is about 80% gold and 20% aluminum. Gold aluminum alloys are very brittle and cannot be worked in a traditional manner to create jewelry. However, purple gold aluminum can be added to jewelry in alloy powder form or coating form by plating or encrusting.
Black Gold
Gold alloys can naturally produce a black copper oxide over time. However, these are not stable or durable, and therefore cannot be used for jewelry-making purposes. Luckily, this black oxide coloring effect can be recreated using a special chemical treatment which results in a thicker, resistant coating and makes it more suitable for making jewelry.
Grey Gold
Mixing gold with palladium, a rare silver metal belonging to the platinum group, results in a grey gold alloy. Palladium's rarity (15 times rarer than platinum) comes with a steep price tag. However, less expensive versions of grey gold, made with gold, silver, iron, manganese and copper, have become more common.
Types of Gold Jewelry
Now that you’ve brushed up on the various colors of gold, let’s see how that transfers over to gold jewelry. While admiring a beautiful piece of jewelry, you may have noticed small numbers, letters or symbols hidden on the jewelry’s underside or clasp. These gold hallmarks provide important information about your specific piece of jewelry, including where it’s from, its metal composition and its value.
Solid Gold
Have you ever seen an Olympic winner bite their newly-awarded gold medal? Or a prospector biting a chunk of suspected gold? They do this because pure gold is so soft, teeth marks can be imprinted on the metal if bitten hard enough. This softness makes pure gold susceptible to damage and wear, which is why pure gold is not an ideal metal for jewelry.
Vermeil
Gold vermeil jewelry uses sterling silver which has been plated in gold. Gold plating of at least 10 karats (42% gold content) is required and jewelry cannot be sold as “vermeil” if its gold plating is not at least 2.5 microns thick.
Gold-Plated
Gold-plated jewelry, marked as “GP,” is a more affordable alternative to solid gold jewelry, achieved by starting with a base metal like brass or copper and adding a super thin layer of gold on top. Unlike vermeil, there's no minimum thickness requirement for the gold layer, so it can wear off over time from friction or if it comes in contact with sweat and chemicals.
Gold-Filled
Gold-filled jewelry is made by bonding a sheet of gold to a nickel or brass base metal. The weight of a piece of jewelry must be 1/20th (5%) real gold to be considered “gold-filled” and sold with the “GF” markings. Therefore, the gold sheets used to plate gold-filled jewelry are 50 to 100,000 times thicker than those used for other gold-plated jewelry. This thickness helps make gold-filled jewelry more durable than gold-plated jewelry, and many other kinds of jewelry as well.
White Gold
White gold makes beautiful jewelry and is used often in engagement ring settings, necklaces, earrings and more. White gold is 75% gold and 25% alloy. It is very durable and looks similar to jewelry made from platinum. Some jewelers will add rhodium to white gold pieces to amp up the shine. Unfortunately, if your white gold jewelry contains rhodium plating, it will wear down over time, requiring re-plating by a professional jeweler.
If after learning all about the various colors of gold you’re now inspired to purchase some, consider insuring these valuable pieces. There are benefits to insuring your jewelry with a personal jewelry insurance policy and not insuring your jewelry under a homeowners insurance policy. Learn more here or check your rate using the button below.
