White gold

[timetest]

I’ve got an anniversary coming up and DH has suggested jewellery as a gift. Ive got a budget of about £1000 and fancy something in white gold for a change. I’m a bit concerned that it might tarnish though. Have any of you had problems with white gold and what did you do to prevent it again?

It doesn't tend to tarnish but the oh so shiny whiteness wears off and tends to leave you with creamy dull coloured gold, but it reasonably cheap and easy to have it replaced again, I do my engagement/wedding/eternity around every 5 years but I never take them off so they do get treated badly, I would have rather had platinum but didn't have budget.

Thanks GreyHare.

I love white gold (not a fan of "traditional" gold) and my engagement and wedding ring is both white gold.

I take my ring off when I swim/gym/wash the pots (most of the time) and it goes dull/needs recoating every 8 months (but I tend to do it annually as I hate going without it for weeks).

Going forward I'd go for platinum however I didn't know my skin would cause the reaction so quickly. I also turn rose gold black so I don't have much look with tinted gold!

My wedding ring is white gold and has not tarnished at all despite 26 years of full time wear. A few scratches and marks as you would expect after a long time of wear and tear (I don't remove it for swimming or washing up for example) but it is as shiny now as it was all those years ago.

I thought about platinum but I think it has a bit of a cooler and slightly more beige/grey tone than white gold.
Your wedding ring looks in very good condition Checkerboard.

I have white gold wedding and engagement rings and they fade after about two years and have to be re-dipped, if I had to choose again of definitely go platinum! Redipping isn't cheap.

I'd not of

The current gold bullion price is higher than the platinum price.

Shops will be sitting on old stock so price will be fixed to an extent but if you're dealing with an actual jeweller they should have some movement on it.

I think I have had the rhodium plating on my wedding ring redone twice in 20 something years. It still looks shiney- I only take it off if I get dermatitis underneath in the hot weather.

White gold goes dull and pitted on rings. However on earrings and pendants it’s fine. To get value look at pre owned or the sales. Quite good savings at the moment.

There are different qualities of white gold, depending on the mix. Some are fab and barely need replating, if at all and others go yellow ish very quickly. If you are getting a ring, the bright shine is unlikely to last. I really would get platinum because replating is honestly not that cheap, especially if you do it frequently.

Platinum wears worse than white gold. It doesn’t tarnish. Look for 18k

Thanks for all the advice. I’ve found the pendant I want. It’s in 18 carat white gold. I wanted white because it’s a delayed 25th anniversary present. I’ll just have to have it replated if necessary. I think I’ll have the chain in platinum to mitigate the upkeep.

You’ll be fine with an 18ct white gold pendant. You won’t be grabbing handles with it! That’s what damages rings. A platinum chain will cost quite a bit of your budget.