Explore Every Shade of Gold

From yellow, white, rose, and various shades in between, there are many different shades of gold. Depending on the type of gold you have, there may be something added to the gold to enhance its color. For example, artisans add rhodium to certain jewelry styles to help strengthen or protect the metal. In other cases, they add copper and silver to gold to give it different color varieties.

When reading inscriptions on gold jewelry, higher numbers indicates a more pure gold. For example, 22K gold may not have much else added to it. 18K gold usually has a bit of copper and silver added. If the gold appears darker, it may have more copper, but if it appears lighter, it may have more silver or rhodium added.

Gold is naturally very soft and could break easily. Adding other metals to gold to make jewelry makes it more durable and more affordable.