When high proportions of silver, nickel, or zinc are added to gold, it becomes “white gold”. Higher end goldsmiths prefer to alloy with palladium and platinum, and this increases the value of this particular type of white gold considerably, thereby increasing the white gold rate today.

Making gold of different colours is part of the goldsmith’s art. The colour of gold alloys changes from yellow to white as the proportion of white metal (such as silver, nickel or platinum) increases. When 70% or more silver is added, for example, the alloy will be pure white. The content of gold alloys is expressed in units of 24 called carats or karats. So, a 12 karat gold alloy is only contains 50 percent gold, and 24-karat gold is 100% pure. The price of white gold therefore depends on which metals have been used to make it.

 

Gold buyers prefer alloys of high value metals. Platinum is very expensive and,

at over $1,600 an ounce, is almost as expensive as gold. This means that gold made

from an alloy of gold and platinum will have virtually the same value as one made

from pure gold. If silver or nickel had been used to make the white gold, the value

will be much less. Remember this when looking for the white gold rate today.

High-end jewelers find a ready market for white gold that has been alloyed with

platinum. It provides a very good setting for diamonds and other stones, and the

combination can looking stunning.

In effect, most white gold is trying to look like platinum. That’s what happened

during the 1920s and 1930s, when there was a explosion in the use of the gold

“substitute”. In those days, the price of platinum was far higher than that of gold.

Much of the antique white gold we see today comes from this period. Telling the

two apart is not very difficult, especially when you have an example of each in

your possession. Platinum, as we have already seen, is always much heavier than a

gold-platinum mix. The easiest way to tell the two apart is simply to weigh them.

To discover what an item of white gold is worth, you need to discover what alloys

are included with the gold and what purity the gold is. You can find this out using a

gold testing kit, which you can buy online at eBay or Amazon for a few dollars.

Once you know what your white gold consists of you need to do a few simple

calculations. Here’s an example: you may have a 12K white gold ring, which

would be 50% gold and 50% other metals. The weight of the item x 50% x the spot

price of gold, would give you the price of the gold. You follow the same process

with the other metals. As a result, the white gold rate today can vary based on the

composition of your piece of jewelry.