Is White Gold Worth More than Other Gold?

The title of today’s post reflects a question that we heard from a caller recently, who asked, “Is white gold worth more than other gold . . . it contains platinum, right, so it should be worth more per ounce than other gold.”

The caller’s reasoning is sound, but unfortunately the answer to his question is a bit more complex than he might realize. Here are some facts that clear up the confusion.

There Are Many Forms of White Gold

Image Credit: Metallos [GFDL (http://www.gnu.org/copyleft/fdl.html) or CC-BY-SA-3.0-2.5-2.0-1.0 (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0)], via Wikimedia Commons

White gold is karat gold – in other words, it’s an alloy of gold and other metals. It sometimes is an alloy of gold and platinum, as the caller mentioned. If that is the case, white gold could actually be worth as much as other forms of karat gold, or even more. But white gold can also be an alloy of gold and silver, palladium, or even nickel.

Many Factors Can Influence the Value of White Gold

If you have a ring that is made of a form of 14k white gold that is made up mostly of gold and silver and palladium, for example, that will be worth a certain amount of money per ounce. If that same ring is made of a form of 14k white gold that contains gold and nickel, that will be worth less per ounce. And when you throw in other variables (maybe you have a ring that is made of 18k white gold, or a ring that is made of 10k white gold . . . the variations go on and on) the range of value per ounce of gold and precious metals becomes almost infinitely large.

You Need a Qualified Precious Metals Refinery to Do Your Testing

So as you can see, there is no one answer to the question, “Is white gold worth more than other gold?” If you have items made of white gold – or pink gold, rose-colored gold, or any other form of the precious metal – call us at 800-426-2344 and we will explain how to send your items to us for testing. When you call, please mention this blog post and ask about free or discounted shipping of your items to us.

Related Posts:

Are White, Pink, and other Golds Worth Less than Yellow Gold?  
Selling Your Gold: What’s the Difference Between an Appraiser and an Assayer?  
Karat Gold: A Quick Review  
How to Tell the Difference Between Silver, White Gold and Platinum