14K or 18K White Gold Rings – White Gold Color or Rhodium-Plated?

Back to Blog
handwoven 4 piece puzzle ring with a one half carat princess blue diamond and a celtic claddagh wedding band

14K or 18K White Gold Rings – White Gold Color or Rhodium-Plated?

The question of white gold color is one that comes up over and over again, since some of the rings at  www.crystalrealm.com are historic reproductions, and some are not.  Here’s important info on all of Crystal Realm’s white gold jewelry:

Ring Style in White gold Karat Gold Rhodium-
plated?
Comments……………………………………
Traditional poesy rings 14K
18K
No………………..

These are Renaissance reproduction rings, which are not rhodium plated.  14K white gold poesy rings have a slightly creamish cast to them; 18K white gold poesy rings are a tad creamier.

You’ll see the naturally creamy color more under artificial light.  I’ve had clients take delivery of these rings and call me to report they received yellow gold.  All it takes it looking at the ring in a more natural light, near a window, skylight, or outdoors, and it’s easy to tell it is white gold.

In 14K white gold, these rings are the best match for our puzzle engagment rings, since both are not plated with rhodium, and the underlying 14K white gold alloy of one ring is very close to, if not identical, to that of the other style.

 

Custom poesy rings 14K
18K
Your choice If you want a white gold poesy ring  or custom design of any  ring to go with a puzzle engagement ring, I recommend palladium, rather than white gold, to ensure the rings match. If you really want white gold, then the rings should be rhodium plated, so the finish color matches.

If you intend to wear a custom ring by itself or with a commercially available engagement ring, then, by all means, select 14K or 18K white gold. 

Puzzle engagement or
puzzle wedding rings
14K only No For strength, we use only 14K gold in any color for puzzle rings. All colored metal puzzle rings have a 14K white gold stone setting, unless you request 14K yellow gold.
Irish Celtic Wedding bands   By default, yes.
Upon request, no.

The Irish Celtic wedding rings we carry have an unusually heavy rhodium finish, so it is very durable and long-wearing, and normally they don’t need to be re-plated for a very long time. The length of time will depend upon your wear pattern.

 

If you want your Celtic wedding band to go with a puzzle engagement ring, then I recommend you select palladium or platinum. Palladium is a platinum family metal that ensures that both your puzzle ring and Celtic wedding band will match in white color.

 

Color of 14K or 18K white gold rings:  Usually when you see a 14K or 18K white gold ring in a jewelry store, that ring will be rhodium plated, so it will be bright white!  You won’t see the difference between them, as rhodium will make them the same color.  Rhodium is a platinum-family metal that is widely used in the modern jewelry industry but that is not used on any white gold poesy or puzzle rings on our site.  One reason is that our rings tend to be historical reproduction, and rhodium was not used in antiquity.  A reason we are not, in general, big fans of rhodium plating is that it has to be redone 1-3 times per year.  You can have a simple band replated by a local jeweler; it tends to run about $45.00 to $50.00 each time.  If you really want that bright-white look, then you can maintain it with replating.

The 14K WG of poesy rings has a slightly warmish cast to it, by comparison, and the 18K white gold is a creamier color.  It looks like white gold (although not the bright, dead white of plated rings) in natural light, but it looks warmer and creamier under most types of inside lighting.  It’s absolutely my favorite white gold!  It’s totally gorgeous, in my view!

Part of the problem of trying to see small differences in colors online is that every computer monitor tends to have the color calibrated a little differently.  So what might look beautiful on one monitor could look dingy on another.

The difference in color between a 14KWG and an 18KWG poesy ring is not that great.  The difference between a rhodium-plated 18K white gold ring and a non-rhodium-plated WG ring is very pronounced.  So you might want to compare the ring under the link above to this one:

2. These rings are not engraved on the inside – the lettering is actually cast in when the ring is made, so we can’t offer it blank on the inside.  There is a small space on the inside where you could likely have initials engraved – it’s about 3/8” wide.

 

 

 

Back to Blog