Pure gold is soft — too soft for everyday jewelry — so it's alloyed with other metals for strength, and that alloy also determines its color. Here's what actually distinguishes white, yellow, and rose gold, the three finishes available across our collection.
Yellow Gold
The most traditional option, yellow gold is pure gold alloyed with metals like copper and silver in proportions that preserve gold's natural warm color. It's the lowest-maintenance of the three finishes — no plating to wear off, just occasional polishing to keep its shine. A classic choice that pairs particularly well with vintage-inspired settings.
White Gold
White gold is gold alloyed with white metals such as palladium or nickel, then typically finished with a rhodium plating that gives it a bright, reflective white shine similar to platinum. That plating does wear over time with regular use and will eventually need reapplication (typically every year or two, depending on wear) to maintain its brightest finish — a normal part of white gold ownership, not a defect.
Rose Gold
Rose gold gets its warm pink tone from a higher proportion of copper in the alloy. It's grown significantly in popularity for its romantic, vintage-modern character, and like yellow gold, doesn't rely on plating — the color is intrinsic to the alloy itself, so it won't fade or wear off with age.
Choosing between them
Skin tone is a common starting point — warmer skin tones often lean toward yellow or rose gold, cooler tones toward white gold — but this is a guideline, not a rule; all three metals suit all skin tones well. Beyond that, consider what jewelry you already wear most, since matching metals across pieces creates a more cohesive look, and how much upkeep you want: yellow and rose gold are essentially maintenance-free, while white gold benefits from periodic rhodium replating to stay at its brightest.
A note on karat
All of our pieces are crafted in 14K gold — a durability-focused standard that balances gold purity with the strength needed for everyday wear, across all three color finishes above.
