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-----:Cleaning White Gold... help!
Quickstart:
Pure 24kt gold is always yellow, there is no isotope of gold that is white. "White gold" is a whitish alloy (mixture) of yellow gold and nickel or palladium. Rhodium is a very white precious metal which is often plated onto silver or white gold to prevent tarnish and to make it scintillatingly bright.
Interested readers can view our FAQ about White Gold & Rhodium Plating.
Q. I've got this ring which is white gold, that was cleaned by my brother who mistook it for silver and tried cleaning it with toothpaste. now its got this kind of black tint to it, and I was wondering if there was anything I could do to clean it and get the black tint off?
JJ Smith- Portland, Oregon
2002
A. Try a hydrogen peroxide ⇦ on eBay or Amazon [affil link] & vinegar ⇦ in bulk on eBay or Amazon [affil link] mixture. No long soaks please.
John Tuohy- Ireland
A. To create white gold, yellow gold is alloyed with other metals, and therefore the gold will always keep the yellowish shade. To give it the "white" look it is dipped in a rhodium liquid solution that covers it with a white rhodium coat.
To fix scratches and cover up dirt on white gold, often all that is needed is a re-dipping, a process of less than three minutes which can be done at most professional jewelers.
marketing - Omaha, Nebraska
2005
You've answered JJ's question well, Jessica; thank you!
Still, it's important for consumers to know that although white gold may have a slightly off-white tint, white gold is a very different alloy than yellow gold, and must comply with standards; and that according to those standards, some white golds are whiter than others. Stuller "X1 14K" and W.R. Cobb's "Precise® White Gold", for example, are apparently attempts to make gold as white as possible. Because of the stark contrast when the rhodium wears thin in a spot, it is wrong for a jeweler to plate yellow gold or low quality 'whitish' gold with rhodium. We have dozens of threads on-line here revealing the heartache that this shoddy practice causes.
Another thing that must be said is that the sale of a white gold ring should include that re-dipping "service" for some period like 3 years. Without such a free service contract built in, every jeweler is constantly tempted to apply a very thin coating of low quality rhodium on his ware from a dirty teacup in the back room instead of doing the job right. When the cost of redoing the plating over & over again is borne by the seller rather than the consumer, the economics will shift and jewelry suppliers will start doing the plating right the first time.
Ted Mooney, P.E.
Striving to live Aloha
finishing.com - Pine Beach, New Jersey
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Q. I have a white gold ring that I've been polishing with a silver cloth, is it safe to do so or should I be using a gold cloth? I also have a large brown/dark 'crack' to one side of the setting, is this possibly due to the Rhodium cracking or breaking up. It hasn't turned yellow yet but is scratched at the base, how can I make it shiny again? ⇦ Answer?
Elizabeth Fisher- Cheltenham, UK
2006
Ed. note: Hunting through all the listings on Amazon and eBay, we do not see anything listed as specifically a gold cloth, only jewelry cloths suitable for gold, silver, brass, etc.
Q. They turned my ring yellow gold
To anyone who could help,
I just got engaged in February and just a couple weeks ago I noticed that the under part of my ring ( the side of my palm) was turning yellow. My jeweler told me that the rhodium plate needed to be put on the ring again. She said it could be a chemical reaction or because we had to get it sized a whole size smaller ( from a 7 1/2 to a 6 1/2) and the buffing caused the rhodium to wear. I just went back to the jewelry store today to pick up my ring, and the company accidentally took the entire rhodium coating off and now my ring is yellow gold looking all over. I was very upset and they are now sending it back to get the rhodium put on the entire ring again. How will this effect the look of my ring and is this going to happen all the time?
consumer - Bluefield, West Virginia, USA
2006
A. Hi Chelsea
Your ring is apparently made of yellow gold or a white gold which is too yellowish for you. I think the best idea is to send it to a specialty jewelry plater who will plate a heavy layer of palladium on it before the final rhodium plating. Rhodium is quite limited in how thick it can be plated because it is very brittle; palladium under rhodium will be perfect.
Luck & Regards,
Ted Mooney, P.E. RET
Striving to live Aloha
finishing.com - Pine Beach, New Jersey
Need quick confidential answers? $25
Need project assistance? $100/hr.
Q. I need advice on how to bring back the bright white color to my white gold pendant that includes tanzanite and opal insets. The white gold is slightly yellowish in color and is definitely "different" from my white gold chain. I don't want to damage the tanzanite or opal when I try and clean the white gold. Thank you for your help. ⇦ Answer?
Margaret Robinsonconsumer - Columbia, South Carolina
2006
Q. Can you not clean white gold rings at home? I have 3 rings which cost me £15 each to clean every year.
Andrea Smithpersonal - England
2006
A. Hi Andrea
You can certainly clean gold rings at home with cloths or an ultrasonic jewelry cleaner ⇨
but the hundreds of tiny scratches that accumulate over time can eventually steal the lustre from the jewelry at which point you may want a jeweler to repolish it.
Luck & Regards,
Ted Mooney, P.E.
Striving to live Aloha
finishing.com - Pine Beach, New Jersey
Need quick confidential answers? $25
Need project assistance? $100/hr.
A. I have found Vanish white ⇨
works with my white gold rings, I discovered it while hand washing my clothes.
- Newcastle, U.K.
June 19, 2012
Q. So I have a pair of cufflinks that are mother of pearl in the middle with the edges and an insignia in the middle being yellow gold ... if dipped in Rhodium will that mess up the mother of pearl?
Gold & Mother of Pearl Cufflinks on eBay (affil link)Daniel O.
- Charleston, SC, USA
August 26, 2009
A. Hi Daniel. Acids definitely attack both pearls and mother of pearl, but yellow gold really ought not be rhodium plated anyway because the contrast as it wears will not be pretty. If you have it done, the mother of pearl will need to be masked or removed first.
Luck & Regards,
Ted Mooney, P.E. RET
Striving to live Aloha
finishing.com - Pine Beach, New Jersey
Need quick confidential answers? $25
Need project assistance? $100/hr.
Q. Hello. My white gold ring has turned black after being exposed to 'glass renovator'; I believe it contains chlorine. After trying to wash the chemical off, it has turned slight yellow. How can I turn it back to being white? Thanks a lot! Dace
Dace Langsteina- Birmingham. England
November 1, 2020
A. Hi Dace. I don't think it's possible to say from the description whether there is still a removable stain on the ring or whether it needs to be rhodium plated again. A jewelry shop will have polishing sticks to polish away any yellowish stain if it is a stain, and rhodium plating to re-plate it if what you are seeing is the slightly yellowish tint of your white gold. Good luck.
Luck & Regards,
Ted Mooney, P.E. RET
Striving to live Aloha
finishing.com - Pine Beach, New Jersey
Need quick confidential answers? $25
Need project assistance? $100/hr.
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