“Richer” vs “Brighter” yellow golds

Hello everyone,

In yellow gold we can achieve a wide range of shades, from neutral yellows or darker alloys with pink undertones to brighter alloys with green undertones even before moving to rose or green golds. I am wondering what is generally preferred by both jeweller and customer. In a similar vein, if I went with a richer gold (more copper) that actually had a discernible pinkish hue but not pink enough to be considered actual rose gold (for 18K, maybe around 15% copper) would it be misleading it dishonest to sell this as yellow gold?

Well, its not really dishonest unless you are misrepresenting the gold content. Its more about customer preference and marketing. Personally, I think really red golds work better for accents … some folks like pink … I forget who it was, someone used to make a “peach” gold that was nice. I made some items out of really red gold years ago … and customers kept asking if it was copper. Not exactly the image I was going for. My perception is very few folks like a really red gold in a solid piece. Marketing is important, the black hills folks did a great job of marketing colored golds. I’m a color freak, so its about the whole piece for me. I like high karat yellow with a light blue stone and some red accents. I don’t care much for green or white golds. If you are going to do colored golds … might want to try to be consistent in your market. Establish a “look” and go with it and market it. Its fun to play with alloys, but if you are trying to put some bread on the table stick with a solid plan. I have been out of the trade for many, many years … so I may be out of touch. I love to make stock … but I’m not trying to feed a family. For the most part … you can buy stock cheaper than you can make it when you consider the time. Just my opinion.