Rose gold

Rose gold is gold with copper added. Copper gives it a soft pink tone, and the usual recipe is gold alloyed with copper and silver. Alloying gold with copper moves its colour towards pink or rose and red.

Typical examples are 14K rose gold at about 58.3% gold, 32.5% copper and 9.2% silver, and 10K at 41.7% gold, 38.3% copper and 20% silver. At 18K the copper share is about 22.2%, and the remainder is other alloy metals. These are examples, not standards, and makers use "rose", "pink" and "red" gold for overlapping ranges, so ask for the karat and the alloy rather than relying on the name.

Yes, because the copper share falls as the gold share rises. Copper reddens gold, so a recipe with more copper looks redder. By the examples above, 14K rose gold has about a third copper by weight and 18K just over a fifth, so 14K gold in rose usually looks deeper and more coppery, and 18K usually looks softer and pinker.

Because recipes differ between makers, the same karat can vary in shade. If the colour matters to you, look at the piece in daylight, ideally against a sample of the other colours, and compare it with yellow gold and white gold to see the difference.

Rose gold is gold alloy, and alloying is what gives gold its durability. The karat tells you how much alloy there is: 14K carries more than 18K, so it is generally harder wearing, and GIA names both as suitable for everyday rings.

The metal in the alloy matters as well. Copper is much more effective than silver at hardening gold, so a copper-rich recipe can be harder than a silver-rich one at the same karat. Even so, do not assume rose gold is simply stronger than other colours. Hardness depends on the whole recipe and how the piece is made, and no one number covers every rose gold. Choose the karat for wear and the colour for taste. The karat entry explains the scale.

The colour does not fade, but the surface can pick up a patina. It helps to separate three things. First, the surface: GIA's care table says rose gold may need polishing to remove patina, though yellow and rose gold typically need less frequent upkeep than white gold, which needs re-plating.

Second, the colour of solid rose gold runs through the alloy, so there is no coating to wear off. Third, a rose gold plated item is a different thing: it has a thin layer of gold over another metal. Canada treats plated and filled pieces as separate categories with their own marks, and the Competition Bureau treats marking plated jewellery as solid gold as a major infraction. Check for a karat mark, as the quality marks entry describes.

It is a good choice if you like the warm colour and are happy to choose the karat for wear. Compared with white gold, it needs no rhodium plating, and the example recipes above contain no nickel. Check the alloy with the seller, since a recipe can vary.

If you are designing a custom piece, say the shade you want, as rose, pink or red, because makers use the names differently. Note your ideas in the design studio, and talk through the alloy at a showroom. The custom jewellery design service starts from your idea, and the wedding bands and earrings collections are places to start looking.