Yellow Gold
Gold is power. An expression of strength, perfection, and justice. The ancients used gold to symbolize balance in all things, as in the "golden mean."
Yellow gold is alloyed with copper and silver for extra strength. Its natural tone coincides well with all skin types and gemstones. The concentration of yellow in yellow gold is influenced by its content. The larger or purer the karat, the brighter and deeper the yellow will appear. Pure 24 karat gold, gold that has no alloys mixed in, would thus be the deepest of the colors. Kassab’s does not recommended using 24 karat gold in your settings as it is very soft and malleable.
White Gold
Just as Platinum, White Gold has an air of purity, simplicity, peace, precision, and innocence. Its white lustrous shine is what grabs the attention of people these days.
White gold has grown in popularity over the recent years as a fresh alternative to yellow. White gold is alloyed with a combination of palladium alloy, zinc, and nickel. The shade looks particularly vibrant when accompanying a sparkling white diamond. The alloys in white gold make it harder than yellow gold. Depending on the alloys used to produce the white gold, much of it is finished with rhodium plating that gives it a bright white finish. This masks the slightly yellowish tone that may appear.
Red Gold
Alloyed with copper to give it its blush tone. Rose gold is the ultimate symbol for love and romance.
Rose gold is a combination of copper and gold/ Rose gold has a soft tone that compliments and enriches skin’s natural coloring in fair skinned people. The highest karat version of rose gold is 22 karats; this is often referred to as Crown’s gold. A medium strength version of rose gold resembles the color blush.
Properties of Gold
The softness of gold allows it to be shaped into a variety of forms and designs. This quality also makes it necessary for gold to be alloyed with other metals to make it stronger and more durable if it is to be used in jewelry. Because the concentration of gold varies from piece to piece, jewelers use the karat system to designate levels of gold purity.
Pure gold contains 24 karats; however, due to its softness, this level of purity is rarely used in jewelry. Most high-end jewelry in North America ranges between 14-18 karats. The most common karat strength in gold jewelry is 14K, because this level of purity provides a popular distribution of hardness and flexibility at an affordable price. Most of the designer jewelry and finer imported European jewelry is 18K. The lowest level of gold purity sold in the United States is 10K. Below this level an item cannot be called gold jewelry.
