White Gold Grading
White gold is graded from 1-4 with 1 as the highest quality in colour and 4 as the lowest quality due to it being a more yellow shade. Grade 3 and 4 colours are more vulnerable to colour change once the rhodium wears off.
At a1jewellers.com we pride ourselves in selling only the best quality products possible. All of our 9ct white gold and 18ct white gold wedding rings are made using only Grade 1 white gold. This gives our customers quality satisfaction and years of hassle-free wear.
All of the jewellery on our website conforms to the European Nickel Directive.
| Category | Colour Value | Colour Description | Frequency of Rhodium Plating |
| Grade 1 | Less than 19 | Good White | Rare; (maintains colour for long periods) |
| Grade 2 | 19 to 24.5 | Reasonable White | Occasional |
| Grade 3 | 24.5 to 32 | Poor White | Frequent |
| Grade 4 | Above 32 | Not Acceptable | Very frequent; (true colour will be exposed very quickly in wear) |
| For reference, rhodium plating is considered brilliant white and has a colour value of 7 | |||
What is white gold?
Gold is naturally a yellow coloured metal and is expressed in carats (ct). The purest form of gold is 24ct gold.18ct gold is made up of 18 parts gold to 6 parts of other alloys. The manufacturers of gold use differing alloys in order to achieve different gold colours.
White gold is created when gold is alloyed with white metals such as palladium or silver and then plated with rhodium. Over time this plating can wear off however it can be replaced easily. At A1 Jewellers we can re-plate your tarnished white gold jewellery. See our Rhodium Plating service for more details is greatly increased as you will not suffer the same level of discolouration experienced with cheaper alloys.
The quality and the colour of the white gold varies depending on the white metal used to alloy it. The highest quality of white gold (Grade 1) uses palladium and although it costs a bit more than other white gold, it is worth spending the extra money. The white colour is best in palladium rich white gold and it stays white much longer. Hence we recommend that you chose palladium rich white gold for any jewellery that will receive hard wear such as rings.
