Gold
Gold has carried jewellery through most of human history. Pure gold is too soft for daily wear, so it is alloyed with other metals for strength, which is where karats, and colours, come from.
Why gold endures
Gold is rare and labour-intensive to mine, which underwrites its value. It does not rust, corrode, oxidise or tarnish, so a gold piece can last virtually forever. And it is the most malleable precious metal: it can be alloyed, shaped, melted and re-used, which is half the craft of remodelling.
Carats and colours
Gold is measured in carats, with 24ct being pure gold. Most fine jewellery is 18ct: 75% gold with 25% alloy. The alloy decides the colour.
Yellow gold is the traditional look, gold as itself. White gold mixes pure gold with white metals such as palladium or silver; because 18ct white gold is still 75% yellow metal, it carries a slight warm tinge and is typically rhodium plated to read bright white. That plating wears with time, and a jeweller can re-plate it to restore the whiteness (we do this at the bench, often while you wait). Rose gold takes its pink from a higher share of copper in the alloy, and is beautiful in two-tone pieces and matched ring sets.
Buyer’s tip
Gold is the most widely used metal for fine jewellery: longer-lasting than silver, more affordable than platinum. Choose the colour by your skin tone and taste; yellow for the traditional look, white to flatter diamonds at a lower cost than platinum, rose for warmth. For quality diamonds and coloured gemstones, a white setting enhances the stone’s brilliance.