White gold is the metal of choice for engagements rings and wedding bands and also in modern times, watches. But, since most of us know that gold is, in fact, yellow, many of us are left wondering: How is white gold made?

If you’re wondering how white gold is made, the first thing to understand is that white gold is an alloy—a white variety of gold doesn’t exist in nature. Metals that are naturally white are combined with gold to give it an appearance that’s more like silver than its natural sunny hue.

Types of Alloys for White Gold

In the United States, nickel is most commonly combined with gold to produce a white colour; however, palladium is also used as a hypoallergenic alternative to nickel, and is utilized in much of the white gold jewellery produced in Europe. Other metals that are sometimes present in white gold include zinc, tin and platinum.

The addition of these other metals to pure gold not only alters its colour; it also makes it durable enough to be practical for jewellery. On its own, gold is fairly soft; however when it’s used as the main component in an alloy it becomes a much stronger material that is able to stand up a bit of wear and tear.

Rhodium Plating White Gold

Rhodium plating is another essential step in how white gold is made. Rhodium is an extremely hard and very precious metal with a bright, shiny, chrome-like finish. While rhodium is too difficult to work with to be used to create jewellery on its own, it’s an excellent plating material and is used to add a lustrous finish to white gold jewellery. Over time, this plating can wear away, causing white gold to lose some of its reflectiveness and brightness, but white gold can be re-plated to restore its colour and lustier.

However this is a very time consuming procedure, as all the original rhodium must be stripped of before a new coating can be applied by electrolysis.

Added to the fact that Rhodium is incredibly expensive, refurbishing white gold watches is a very skilled practice.

The end result, however, speak for themselves.