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A number of jewellery lovers in Bahrain are having their gold items melted down and remade into more fashionable white gold.
White gold is an alloy of gold and some white metals such as silver and palladium. 18kt white gold is made by mixing 75 per cent gold with 25 per cent other metals such as silver and palladium. So the amount of gold is the same but the alloy is different.
When white gold rings are new they are coated with another white metal called Rhodium. Rhodium is a metal very similar to platinum and shares many of the properties of platinum including its white colour.
The rhodium plating is used to make the white gold look more white. The natural colour of white gold is actually a light grey. The rhodium is very white and very hard, but it does wear away eventually.
To keep a white gold ring looking its best it should be re-rhodium plated approximately each year. Most local jewellers are able to rhodium-plate jewellery for a reasonable price.
