Alloying is done through melting. A gold alloy is used to obtain a material that has different properties than pure gold. Pure gold would be too soft for jewelry production and it would also have an unattractive matte, yellow color that is not always desired. High-quality jewelry is almost exclusively made from a 750/000 gold alloy, which means that 750 parts per thousand of the alloy are pure gold and 250 parts per thousand are other metals. In the past, before the introduction of the metric system, this alloy was also referred to as 18 karat (18 parts out of 24 parts = 750/000). 

A gold alloy with the same fineness (e.g., 750/000) can be produced as white gold, yellow gold, or rose gold: 
– The gold fineness is always 75% (750/000), which means that it is the same for 750/000 white gold, yellow gold, and rose gold. 
– The remaining 25% in yellow and rose gold alloys consists of silver and copper. Silver gives the alloy a more yellowish hue, while copper imparts a reddish tone. The more copper is present in the alloy, the more reddish it becomes. 
– In 750/000 white gold, the remaining 25% consists of silver and other “white” metals (with minimal copper). 

White Gold-Palladium Alloy

Our ONE Solitaire jewelry pieces are made from a white gold-palladium alloy. It consists of 75% gold, 13% palladium, and 12% other metals such as copper and silver. Palladium (Pd) is a highly valuable precious metal that imparts special characteristics to the alloy. We would like to highlight three of these special properties:

Mechanical Properties:

Rings are subjected to constant stress during wear. A white gold-palladium alloy provides a much greater protection against stone loss; it is less brittle than regular white gold. A white gold-palladium alloy is also more resistant to scratches and wear than most other gold alloys.

Nickel free:

Many other white gold jewelry pieces marketed as “nickel safe” or “nickel free” still contain a very small amount of nickel, which, according to EU regulations, does not need to be declared below a certain threshold. Nickel is known to cause allergies, even in very small amounts. Jewelry made from white gold-palladium alloy contains absolutely no nickel. 

Metal color:

Most rings, pendants, and earrings are made from a simple white gold alloy that has a yellowish color. Therefore, they are rhodium-plated (coated with the typical metallic, shiny layer). This layer gradually wears off over time, and the jewelry piece starts to appear yellowish again. Jewelry pieces made from a white gold-palladium alloy have a silver-white color, similar to platinum. These jewelry pieces can also be rhodium-plated to achieve the typical hard, metallic shine. However, due to the white gold-palladium alloy’s silver-white color and lack of yellowish undertones, any partial wear-off of the rhodium plating is hardly noticeable.