yellow gold, white gold, rose gold - what are the long term issues?

[Der Amf]

This was from someone making quite ornate jewellery; presumably practices are different in that world

[FuzzyB]

Thirdly, are there any ageing issues with 18k yellow gold?

TimeZone just posted an excellent comparison photo that shows how Lange's yellow gold patinates over over 12 years.

http://forums.timezone.com/index.php...89#msg_7166770

The clasp on the left is new and unworn, the center is 12 years old and worn regularly, and the one on the right is 12 years old and unworn.

[mlcor]

TimeZone just posted an excellent comparison photo that shows how Lange's yellow gold patinates over over 12 years.

http://forums.timezone.com/index.php...89#msg_7166770

The clasp on the left is new and unworn, the center is 12 years old and worn regularly, and the one on the right is 12 years old and unworn.

That's really interesting. I never would have guessed that much change. The new one looks almost like rose gold compared to the other two.

[FuzzyB]

That's really interesting. I never would have guessed that much change. The new one looks almost like rose gold compared to the other two.

I agree. What is striking is that I would have guessed yellow gold to be the most stable variation of gold. Rose gold, by virtue of the inclusion of copper, would be more likely to darken over time and white gold (I played) would be a metallurgist's guess.

I'm fairly certain the degree of change will vary with the brand. Brands that make their own alloys, such as Rolex, should have the most consistent aging. If a company were to change suppliers, the same model could age differently depending on the source of the gold.

[mlcor]

I would guess that white gold would be the least predictable, since companies use different types of rhodium plating with white gold to make it shiny, and who knows what happens over time with wear. I guess with limited wear, something with plating would stay more consistent, but that's a total guess.


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