Originally Posted by texasgirliegirl

Would you expect that the wg pieces will yellow over time if not re plated? How do they do this without disturbing the diamonds?

Depending on your chemistry and wear patterns yes.

Unless the gold is alloyed with palladium it will yellow and will require replating. The way rhodium is applied doesn't have an affect on the set stones. They will polish the remaining rhodium off, then they dip it in electrically charged rhodium that will adhere to the metal but not the stones. It's actually simple and quick.

Isn't there also a perception issue around the "preciousness" of platinum? In my life time for the majority of the time platinum has been more expensive than gold, in recent times, gold now commands weight for weight a higher price than platinum. Gold is roughly 10% higher in cost at the moment yet people still think that platinum is a more precious material. It is clearly less maintenance than white gold but a lot of platinum jewellery I am aware of is still rhodium plated (e.g wedding rings) to give a high shine.

Correct, but that preciousness is due in part to rarity. There's less platinum in the world than gold, and it's harder to mine. When the economy is in the toilet, as it has been for a few years now, gold goes nuts. When and if the economy is ever not crap again, gold will go down and plat will be back on top.

Originally Posted by Slidey

Isn't there also a perception issue around the "preciousness" of platinum? In my life time for the majority of the time platinum has been more expensive than gold, in recent times, gold now commands weight for weight a higher price than platinum. Gold is roughly 10% higher in cost at the moment yet people still think that platinum is a more precious material. It is clearly less maintenance than white gold but a lot of platinum jewellery I am aware of is still rhodium plated (e.g wedding rings) to give a high shine.

thats because of the economy and gold backs the dollar not platinum

Most European white gold is alloyed with palladium or platinum & does not require plating.
I have never in my life seen WG turn yellow. Maybe low grade WG but VCA does not use that.
Platinum patinas to a greyish colour & perhaps the aesthetic isn't there for them. I wouldn't brush off high grade european WG as inferior to platinum - there's appropriate uses for both.

Originally Posted by lolakitten

Most European white gold is alloyed with palladium or platinum & does not require plating. I have never in my life seen WG turn yellow. Maybe low grade WG but VCA does not use that. Platinum patinas to a greyish colour & perhaps the aesthetic isn't there for them. I wouldn't brush off high grade european WG as inferior to platinum - there's appropriate uses for both.

i am actually skeptical that european gold is alloyed with platinum but high end wg is sometimes mixed with palladium.(verdura for exmaple) much of it is still dipped as well . VCA IS "plated" or dipped -- WG doesnt turn yellow but it does oxidize and can get a warmish cast. body chemistry can affect it as well. platinum isnt always appropriate for every piece. but it is considered the premier white precious metal.

I can't speak for VCA white gold, but I have 3 x 18 carat gold rings with areas white gold, all from independent jewellers in the UK. All of them were definitely plated from new, and this wore away on the high contact areas revealing very pale yellow gold beneath. I had 2 of them (wedding and engagement ring, re-done). At the time of purchase I was given to understand all white gold in the uk is plated with a white metal such as rhodium.

This is a really interesting thread.

Originally Posted by lolakitten

Most European white gold is alloyed with palladium or platinum & does not require plating.

It's not alloyed with platinum, usually palladium, same metal family.

i learned so much from this thread! thank you