The differences between 14k and 18k white gold go beyond purity, extending to durability: Because 18-karat white gold is quite soft and malleable, 14-karat white gold is often considered a better option. 14K white gold is purer – 58.3% of this alloy consists of gold. As a result, jewelry made with 14K and 18K gold will be more malleable and easier to bend. If stamped 18 karat, it would be 75% pure gold. One of the consequences of the differences in purity between 10K, 14K, and 18K white gold is that they differ in how hard they … Gold; 1998; USGS Unnumbered Series; GIP; Kirkemo, Harold; Newman, William L.; Ashley, Roger P. Rivers of gold; placer mining in Alaska; 1998; FS; 058-98; Yeend, Warren E.; Stauffer, Peter H.; Hendley, James W., II.  Their leading. If you get white gold make sure it is plated in rhodium for added wear resistance. Mineral: Chalcopyrite, Pentlandite, PyrrhotiteMineral Origin: Creighton Mine, Sudbury, Ontario, Canada (Sample on loan from George J. Coakley)Primary Commodity: Copper and nickelPrimary Commodity Uses: Copper is used primarily in electronics, mostly in building construction and industrial, Sphalerite, zinc sulfide, is and has been the principal ore mineral in the world. Should You Wear Gold or Silver: Tips to Help You Decide, How to Remove Scratches from Gold Jewelry, How to Make the Most Money Selling Your Gold. Jenness, J.E., Ober, J.A., Wilkins, A.M., and Gambogi, Joseph, 2016, A world of minerals in your mobile device: U.S. Geological Survey General Information Product 167, 2 p., http://dx.doi.org/10.3133/gip167. White gold is a gold alloy of at least one white metal (normally palladium, manganese or nickel) and gold. Click here to see a selection of 10K gold jewelry pieces. The purity of white gold is provided in carats similar to yellow gold. Hard gold commonly has a hardness of 130-200 HK 25 (Knoop hardness), while soft gold typically has a hardness of 20-90 HK 25 making it very susceptible to sliding wear or wear from contact switching. Consequently, white gold alloys find applications in a number of fields. Thus, 24 karat gold is pure gold; 12 K would be an alloy that is half gold and half copper or other metals. 3 Cu 26. What is Rhodium Plating? Alloys that contain more gold as a percentage (i.e., higher-karat ones) tend to be softer than those that have a higher percentage of additional metals. How many pounds of minerals are required by the average person in a year? Discover over 478 of our best selection of 1 on AliExpress.com with top-selling 1 brands. The reason why white gold is combined with alloys is because gold, as a metal, is extremely soft. The platinum-group elements (PGEs)—platinum, palladium, rhodium, ruthenium, iridium, and osmium—are metals that have similar physical and chemical properties and tend to occur together in nature. Although most people think white gold is a shiny white metal, that color is actually from the rhodium metal plating that is applied to all white gold jewelry. = softness from wear - 10k scratches 14 scratches 18 etc Add paladium and the white gold bends easier, takes longer to wear out but it scratches more easily. (Text continues below ad.) Shop the top 25 most popular 1 at the best prices! Although it is not as pure, 10-karat white gold can be a solid choice because it is not only relatively cheap but also more durable. The overall recycling rate was 29 percent when scrap consumption was compared with apparent domestic supply. 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