Rainbow of Colors for Gold

Here's an important fact to know about the gold used in fine jewelry. Gold doesn't have to be yellow. "Real" gold comes in myriad colors. By mixing other metals to yellow gold in varying percentages and combinations, jewelers can create a rainbow of colored gold alloys. In the case of black gold, a number of scientific processes are used to create this unusual variation.

White Gold - Nickel and palladium are added to yellow gold to produce a white (or gray) color.

Rose/Pink Gold - Copper is added to yellow gold to produce a reddish tint.

Green Gold - Silver is added to yellow gold to produce a green shade.

Purple Gold - Aluminum is added to yellow gold to achieve a violet tint.

Blue Gold - Indium is added to yellow gold to produce a blue color.

Black Gold - Black gold is created through a number of chemical processes. (Editor's note: Put on your science cap, because this gets a little complicated.) Among the techniques used are electroplating with rhodium or ruthenium; plasma-assisted chemical vapor deposition of amorphous carbon; and controlled oxidation of karat gold containing cobalt or chromium.

Note that pure, or 24-karat, gold is usually too soft for jewelry usage. Most of the gold used in jewelry is an alloy of gold and other metals mixed together to make it more durable. The most common metals combined with gold include silver, copper, nickel, zinc and palladium. The percentage of gold in the alloy, or "fineness," is expressed in karats:

• 24-karat gold is pure gold and contains no other metals.

• 18-karat gold contains 75% gold (18/24ths).

• 14-karat gold contains 58.3% gold (14/24ths).

• 10-karat gold contains 41.7% gold (10/24ths).

Michael Grohowski is the owner of ChainsAndNecklaces.com which is a leading resource and retailer for the Jewelry industry. For More information visit: ChainsAndNecklaces.com - We are offering 10% off all purchases for our readers - use jewelry coupon 10offreading at checkout on our site.

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