White gold ring gone yellowy

[fluffyegg]

Hi does anyone know what to do if your white gold ring goes yellowy if that makes sense? It's my wedding ring ! Had it for ten years.
Can it be re dipped ? Cleaned somehow ?
Thanks in advance

My wedding ring is white gold and I’ve had it re dipped because it went yellowy

The white gold is a thin coating over the top of yellow gold. It wears away over time. You can have it re-done.

The rhodium coating has worn off, but as the other posters have said, you can have it replated .

You need to take it to a jewellery to be rhodium plated last time I had mine done about 5 years ago it was £30. White gold is just plated yellow gold its not a solid metal. It needs replating every 7-10 years

White gold is not plated yellow gold. White gold is a rather unattractive yellowish white colour. This is then plated in rhodium which is the bright white you see. When it wears off, the rather dull yellowish white gold underneath shows throw. But it's not yellow as in actual yellow gold. It's just that white gold is slightly yellow in colour.

I think, like most things, it depends on the quality of the gold.

My engagement ring is 18ct white & yellow gold. The white gold has never been rhodium coated & is a beautiful soft silverish colour.

Our wedding rings were made by the same jeweller & they're also both 18ct white gold

They're handmade & beautiful. I love the colour of them.

All 18ct gold is of the same quality. It is al 75% gold with 25% alloy added. In white gold that will usually be palladium. I think unplated white gold is a really nice metal. It's a soft silver with a warm hue due to the 75% yellow gold. It wears nicely as it doesn't get the bright silver colour of rhodium contrasting against it as the rhodium wears off. Most people however don't like the natural colour as they are used to seeing the very bright clear white metal that rhodium plating is. Unplated white gold has a vintagey look which I think is really pretty

Thanks for replying, that explains it well ! Will have to go get it done

Mine is now 20 years old and I much prefer the softer colour, so I’ve never bothered replating it, even though it was included in the price of my ring. Mind you, I’m not sure I could claim it now, as the chain it was bought from is long since defunct!

There are different qualities of white gold, depending on the mix. Some go more yellow when the rhodium plating wears off, others are more of a silvery sheen colour.

It's not different quality. It's different composition.

Not sure about that @journeyofsanity. Technically it is the mix which affects appearance. But the kind of white gold which is silvery, doesn't require rhodium plating and is therefore a better quality than one which is yellowish and needs regular returns to the jewellers to make it a nice colour again.
Most people want white gold to look like white gold, or else they'd just buy yellow gold in the first place

I understand your point. It comes down to what we mean by quality. All 18ct gold has 75% pure gold. To reduce the yellow combinations of zinc, nickel, palladium, silver and/or other white metals are added (25%). None if these is inherently more or less good quality. They have slightly different properties but the quality in terms of gold quality is the same.
There is very little difference between the colour of 18ct white gold regardless of what allow is added.

I think if you are buying white gold, you want a mix that will stay white/silvery, rather than yellow. So by 'quality' I mean the properties added to the mix that will keep that appearance, rather than a mix which needs regular rhodium plating in order to look as originally purchased. Yes, 18k gold is still 18k gold but if you've deliberately chosen white, it's a pita to have to get it dipped to maintain appearance.

I have two white gold rings - one is still white despite never being plated. The other has worn to a slightly more yellow colour. It was more noticeable tbh before all the plating wore off the band - I think the plating gives a false impression of what white gold really looks like and I think jewellers should make customers aware when they buy it.
I had no idea when I bought my first ring that the colour would alter.

I agree, jewellers should make people aware. Tbh platinum is cheaper than WG atm so I'd go for platinum.

That's exactly what I meant too @ImAvingOops .

18ct gold is 18ct gold but clearly there's discernable difference in the appearance/ attractiveness of certain compositions..

My engagement ring has both yellow & white gold elements. My wedding ring is entirely white gold as is dh's. None of them were ever dipped & 20 years later they're still a soft silvery colour & beautiful.

I don't like the coldness of the tone of platinum so have zero interest in it & don't own any