HIDDEN GEMS

WITH ERICA SHARPE

- 

White and yellow golds

HAVING spent my working life at the bench and behind the counter in a jeweller's workshop, I've been asked all sorts of weird and wonderful questions. Some have made me laugh, some have stumped me and many have come up so often that I thought it might be helpful and entertaining to share a few with you.

Can you make my yellow gold white?

Unfortunately not. Pure gold is naturally yellow. In the jewellery world it is mixed with other metals to change its colour and strength. For example, pure gold is often alloyed with copper and silver to make the yellow gold carats. Add just copper and you get rose gold. Silver and palladium are added to get white gold.

Once gold has been made into a yellow gold jewellery alloy, it can't be turned into white gold easily at the workbench. That process involves re-refining it back to pure gold, then re-alloying it, which is best left to specialist refiners.

Can you give me a rough valuation of my jewellery?

As a jeweller I can talk about craftsmanship, gemstones and materials, but valuing pieces is a different skill altogether. Valuations require specific training and expertise - insurance companies usually only accept reports from qualified valuers.

That said, I'm always happy to support a registered valuer with details about a piece I've made, such as stone weights or materials used.

Why is gold so expensive?

Gold's value goes back thousands of years. It is beautiful, rare, portable, doesn't corrode, and is incredibly difficult to counterfeit. It's been used for currency, treasure and jewellery throughout history.