Rose Gold – A Favorite with Many
Many people prefer rose gold to yellow gold jewelry. It’s also called red gold or pink gold. It looks classier to some, and just makes your jewelry a little fancier. The different colors of gold are made by adding different metals to them in a mixture called an alloy. Even yellow gold jewelry isn’t pure gold. That is so because pure gold (24k) is so soft it wouldn’t hold up to everyday or even occasional wear. So the metal must be hardened by using some other metals.
How is Rose Gold Made?
Rose gold simply has copper in the alloy mix. The two metals are heated to melting, mixed together thoroughly and allowed to cool, thus forming the alloy. If a paler hue of gold is wanted for a pinkish color, less copper is used, resulting in pink gold. More copper produces a reddish tint, and you have red gold. Red gold is actually the least pure because the amount of copper is greater, so it will have a lower karat value than a pink gold. Rose gold is in the middle range so has a medium karat value. There is no standard for how much copper is in any of these types.
You may hear the term “pure” rose gold, but in reality, there is no such thing. The amount of copper in the alloy is the only difference.
Russian Gold and Crown Gold
Russian gold is nothing more than rose gold with another name. Rose gold was very popular in Russia in the 19th century, but it’s hardly ever called Russian now. Just to aware that if you hear that designation, it’s simply rose gold.
Crown Gold, on the other hand, is 22-k gold mixed with copper and was formerly used to mint coins in England, hence the name “crown”. Since pure gold is 24-karat, a 22k mixture is the highest karat you will find in gold jewelry production. Consequently, because of its high concentration of pure gold, it will be priced higher than lower karat jewelry.
Purchasing Rose Gold
Keep in mind that the redder the gold appears, the more copper it has in it, and therefore should be worth less, everything else being equal. Another consideration to keep in mind is that the gold will be stronger the lower the karat is, so a 10-karat rose gold ring may be a better choice for you if you are going to wear it every day, or if you are really hard on jewelry. An added bonus is that you will pay less for the lower karat ring.
