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Q&As since 1989


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White gold reaction

Hi,
I received white gold earrings with princess cut diamonds in exchange for some gold pieces I didn't want. Well, now I am in a bind. I have had a severe reaction to the earrings each time I wear them. They are stamped 14K, which I don't believe. I never have had a reaction to yellow 14k, 18k, or 22K gold. Does anyone know what the problem is? I have been told by a medical doctor that the nickel content in white gold is causing the reaction. What do I do other than resetting princess cut diamonds in a new setting.

Diana Ekizian
Housewife - Houston, Texas
2005

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Believe your doctor: you are allergic to nickel and these earrings contain nickel (it is what is making the alloy white). You could try having them rhodium plated, but it would have to be top quality plating by a specialist, not by a jeweler plating out of a teacup in a back room. Even then it is no sure thing that the nickel exposure would be reduced by enough.

Ted Mooney, P.E.
Striving to live Aloha
finishing.com - Pine Beach, New Jersey
2005

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2005

There are many alloys used to fabricate jewelry, and the people selling the jewelry usually cannot tell you what the alloy is.

Some 14K gold is composed of gold, silver, zinc and copper
Some 14K gold is composed of gold, nickel, silver and copper
Some 14K gold is composed of gold, silver and copper.

The retailers generally do not tell the jewelry manufacturing companies what they want in the product they buy.

The reaction to gold jewelry is generally caused by the nickel content.

For years my wife thought she was allergic to gold. At one point in my career, I was employed by a major jewelry retailer, running their assay department (determination of gold content on products they bought). This was when I found out about the great variety of alloys used.

I bought my wife a pair of earrings that I had determined contained no nickel. She is still wearing them today. But it is really pot luck unless you can find a retailer who does non-destructive assay and will test stuff for you.

Daryl Spindler, CEF
decorative nickel-chrome plating - Greenbrier, Tennessee

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If you want nickel free jewellery, buy it in the EU. It has been illegal to sell nickel containing jewellery in Europe for some years. The only exception is antique jewellery, where the nickel was already in there.

Trevor Crichton
R&D practical scientist
Chesham, Bucks, UK
2005