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Yellow Gold or White Gold

white gold or yellow gold

 

White gold or yellow gold what’s the difference? Why is white gold sometimes more expensive then yellow gold? Is white gold or yellow gold created by adding colors? There are so many questions about this subject we here at Baby Locket wanted to bring you some answers.

To answer the questions the most completely, we have to look at gold in its most natural state. Gold in its purest form, the moment it comes out of the ground, is yellow, this is pure 24K gold. That said, unless your jewelry incorporates a gold nugget into the design, next to no jewelry is pure 24K gold. Even in places like Asia or the Middle East where the jewelry tends to be higher in “karat” or “K” the gold is still not “pure” and will not be generally over 18K or 20K.

I’m not sure if anyone else remembers the “Hardness Scale of Minerals” from science class but let us just say that gold is very low on the scale. It is easily malleable and can bent and shaped into just about any shape which may sound good, the problem lies in that the gold won’t keep its shape. Could you imagine spending money on a beautiful locket just to have it squashed under your fingers or the locket simply drops off the chain when the clasp comes undone? Nightmare!!

Other metals are added to the gold to harden the gold and this is where the split between yellow gold and white gold occurs. Zink is added to the gold to keep the gold yellow but add hardness so jewelry will keep the gorgeous color and shape. Platinum and or Nickel is added to the gold to add hardness and to make white gold but that’s not all. Pink gold can be created with the addition of copper and even Zink if you are looking for a greenish tint.

Because Platinum is added to to yellow gold to make the gold white it can be more expensive.  It really comes down to how much Platinum is added that determines how much more expensive that it may be.

There is much more to the difference between white gold and yellow gold but this is just a small explanation. To find out more differences between yellow gold and white gold, we came across these two articles, the first on Wikipedia about white gold and this other article from The Straight Dope.

Let Baby Locket be your one stop resource for all things baby lockets and be sure to check out our main page if you looking to buy white gold baby lockets or buy yellow gold baby lockets!

Baby Locket: What to put in your Baby Locket

We've brought you some the greatest baby lockets off the web, white gold heart lockets, golden heart lockets and all sorts of beautiful lockets but we've never discussed the history of the locket itself.  I just got found this insightful article about lockets, baby lockets and other jewelry during the Victorian era.

To read the entire article about the history of lockets just roll to the bottom and click on the link.  Here's the article:

Victorian Jewelry Personal Adornment from the Age of Romance to the Age of Aesthetics

S. Hand, Old Sacramento Living History Program, 2004 (Revised 2011). Introduction.

victorian locket - what to put in a locket

Lockets were much-loved accessories during the Victorian era in keeping with the
romantic motifs and were made of every type of material. (Lockets were sometimes
worn under the clothing to protect a sentimental keepsake inside from public eyes and 6
also unfortunately for us, the eye of the camera.)

They often held painted miniatures and (in later years) small photographs, as well as locks of hair. Lockets were worn not just on necklaces but also as multiple charms on a bracelet, a pin or even a ring. Rings were important and Victoria was known to wear one on each finger. Brooches and lace pins but not watch pins, (a later stock item) were extremely popular and were worn in a variety of ways by the Victorian woman. They were worn on the shoulder, but also at the
neck, waist, in the hair, hats, and on ribbons as necklaces and bracelets.

Earrings were popular throughout the era with exceptions only for a few years during the 1840's and 1890's, when bonnet styles and ribbons made them difficult to wear. A number of
women’s magazines such as Harper’s are on line now. Godeys and Petersons are
available bound into books from Amazon and each month’s edition has a discussion of
the latest in fashion clothing and jewelry. Jeanenne Bell starts each one of her chapters in
her Collecting Victorian Jewelry with examples and descriptions of each period’s
fashions.

The spread of the empire and the calmer more peaceful times encouraged trade under
Victoria and this brought access to the products and the art work, crafts and gemstones of
faraway places such as the Orient and India. Mechanical and technical advances allowed
mass production in both fabrics and metal work including jewelry.The increased
availability of gold and silver from America and gem mines in India and Australia put
more jewelry in the jewelers storefronts.

Gutta Percha extracted from a Malayan tree resin appeared in 1842 and along with vulcanite processed from the rubber tree were the first early forms of moldable and durable materials. These were followed later by celluloid and bakelite, the latter two not in the periods of interest to us. Tortoise shell and horn also provided moldable lightweight jewelry which was enhanced with gold and silver and called Pique.

To read the whole article about Victorian jewelry and discussing the history of lockets, please click this link.  Don't forget to check our main page if you are looking to buy a baby locket.  Now if you buy a white gold locket from us and everyone is complimenting you on it you can tell them the history of it!