Yellow gold

Pure gold is too soft for most jewellery, so it is alloyed. Mixing other metals into 24 carat gold makes the metal more durable and can also change its colour. Yellow gold uses mostly silver and copper, with the share of each setting the shade. The usual additions are copper, silver and zinc.

Typical recipes show how the mix changes with karat. They are examples, not the only way to reach a yellow, so alloys vary a little between makers.

Two things move the shade. The first is how much gold is in the piece, because the more gold, the more the metal takes on gold's own yellow and the less the alloying metals pull it away. That is why 18K gold usually looks deeper and warmer than 14K gold, and why karat is worth asking about.

The second is the silver-to-copper balance. Copper moves gold's colour towards pink and red, while silver bleaches it towards white and gives the yellow a greenish hue. So a yellow with extra silver is paler and a yellow with extra copper is warmer. Because both karat and recipe matter, "yellow gold" covers a range of shades, and the only reliable test is to see the piece in the light you will wear it in.

Not for its colour. Plating is usually done to white gold, where a thin rhodium layer brightens the surface. In yellow gold the colour comes from the alloy itself, not from a surface layer. Gold does not react with oxygen, so the gold in the mix does not tarnish, and yellow and rose gold typically need less frequent upkeep than white gold.

What you should watch for is not yellow gold fading but something else being sold as yellow gold. Plated and filled items carry their own marks in Canada, such as gold plated or rolled gold plate, and the Competition Bureau treats marking plated jewellery as solid gold as a major infraction. Solid yellow gold is stamped with a karat or a decimal mark such as 14K or 583, and the quality marks entry explains what to look for.

The American Gem Society says that a diamond set in a yellow-gold ring could appear less yellowish in tone than the same stone in a white-metal mounting, and that graders look at stones loose so the metal cannot influence the grade. The report describes the bare diamond, not how it will look in your ring.

That gives yellow gold some freedom. A stone a grade or so warmer on the colour scale may look less yellowish in yellow gold, which can free budget for cut or size. If you want a very white look, ask to see the stone in the actual metal, because the metal beside it changes what you see. By the same logic, white gold and platinum show a diamond's own tint more plainly.

It is the classic choice, and as of 2026 it is still the most popular gold colour even as the palette widens. Its practical strength is that the colour runs through the metal. Its trade-off is that it is gold-coloured, so if you want a cool, silvery look, white gold or platinum come closer.

In heavier pieces such as a Cuban link chain, the karat affects gold content, colour and wear together. The necklaces and bracelets collections are places to start looking, and when you design a piece, tell the jeweller the karat and the shade you have in mind.