Is White gold realty hot?

Jewelry Discussion
1

Hello to all!

There seems to have been a lot of discussion about white gold, or
more appropriately white metals, recently. The popularity of white
gold, platinum, silver and palladium is not an overnight phenomenon.
the past 15 years, just about when the PGI started its major push for
Platinum. Today, the vast majority of bridal merchandise, and a
substantial portion of other jewelry, is white metal.

Why? That’s because it’s what the consumer wants. Today.

I have the advantage of having been in the jewelry industry for
quite a while. Longer than I care to admit! One thing that I’ve
learned is…Jewelry is fashion…fashion is history…and history
repeats itself.

Platinum jewelry was very popular before World War II. During the
war and subsequent years, platinum, along with chromium and other
white metals, was declared a strategic metal and restricted to
military use. As a result, yellow gold once more became the obvious
metal of choice for jewelry. Then white gold was developed and white
metal regained its popularity only to be replaced by, you guessed it,
yellow gold. And the cycle continues today with white gold’s
popularity. While neither color will ever, in my opinion, be
completely removed from the jewelry scene, there will always be a
general consumer preference for one color or the other, sometimes
with a two-tone or tri-color transition period.

Yellow will once again become the color of choice for jewelry and
bridal in the future. Just like fashion right now is reliving (at
least for me) the 60’s. Straight leg pants (we used to call them
bellbottoms), the dark brown color in women’s clothing, the retro
Mustang. Even earlier times with the HHR and PT Cruiser, Hemmingway
and Bogart inspired furniture. The Right Hand Ring seems little more
than a 00’s interpretation of the 50-60’s cocktail ring. Have you
noticed tie-dye made a come back?

As for the metals themselves, I don’t believe there is a perfect
metal. Each one has advantages and disadvantages. There will always
be a demand for each color and all metals, just sometimes stronger
and sometimes weaker. However, I do feel that 950 Palladium is going
to be a strong contender in the white metal arena. We’ve recently
released our 950 Palladium catalog supplement which features an
extensive line of 950 Palladium products. Palladium answers many of
the questions that the jeweler and the consumer have about white
gold such as color and workability. It also helps the jeweler
differentiate themselves from their competition. While some
companies are happy to remain status quo, R*Findings chooses to be
pro-active in the ever changing jewelry industry. Several of my
customers have made the commitment to palladium with many more
testing palladium products before the upcoming holiday season. The
Palladium Alliance International, www.luxurypalladium.com, has also
been formed to promote the use of palladium in jewelry, similar to
what the Platinum Guild does for platinum.

Keep in mind: Change is inevitable, except from a vending machine.

Gene Rozewski
R*Findings

2

Is it just me or does anyone else out there think the pink gold
being made today is just ugly? It is way too PINK in my opinion. Old
pink gold’s have that wonderful copper color. This new stuff looks
cheap to me.

Julia

3

Julia,

The reason the older pieces look different is due the years the item
has had to form a patina.

The new pieces will one day turn a darker color as the copper alloy
oxidizes and small scratches form on the surface from wear.

Greg DeMark
If You Like Antique, Vintage or Custom Jewelry
Visit us on the web at:
www.demarkjewelry.com

4 
Is it just me or does anyone else out there think the pink gold
being made today is just ugly? It is way too PINK in my opinion.
Old pink gold's have that wonderful copper color. This new stuff
looks cheap to me.

I alloy my own gold, there are different alloys to produce different
colors of red or pink gold. I think of the colors as a palate to
choose the color for the effect I want in relationship to the
gemstones that are being used, or in relation to how the color looks
if I use white or yellow gold with the red/pink gold.

The pink gold used alone was too washed out looking, too light in
color by itself for my taste. Used with David Fell’s Winter White
alloy in a two tone ring, it has enough contrast, but red gold is
much better, especially if the red has a brush finish and the white
is left polished.

My customers have not related any issues about the pink gold looking
cheap, and it never crossed my mind. Some people just like the
subtleness of the color.

I had one customer who after me touting the whiteness of the new
alloy I was using, and showing him a sample of the traditional
yellowish white gold, and Fell’s Winter White, wanted the two part
ring I make, one in each color of white gold, yellower gold brush
finish, which made it yellower. (spell-check thinks yellowier is the
right spelling? Can spell-check be wrong?)

This has given me an idea to use pink and red gold together. I would
like to see what they look like together, and it gives me something
my customers will not see anywhere else, and if it is a good design,
it will sell.

Richard Hart

5

I have to agree about pink gold Julia. I’ve bought a couple of pink
gold settings and haven’t used it because I just didn’t like it.

6

Gene, Really enjoyed your follow up on the white gold issue. As an
old timer myself, I couldn’t had laid it out better. Youth just
haven’t been around long enough to know the old saying " What goes
around comes around."

Sali Mel
Casmira Gems, Inc

7 
I alloy my own gold,.... This has given me an idea to use pink and
red gold together.

Richard, every time I read your posts I’m anxious to find a link at
the bottom to see pictures of your work. More than ever after this
post! Is there such a place?