In past centuries, Gold has always been a symbol of great wealth and it is believed to represent love and warmth in a marriage. Gold is soft and malleable in nature therefore, other metals are mixed (alloyed) to strengthen it. In addition, the alloys are used to influence color ranging from light yellow to deep yellow to reds and greens. In its purest form gold has a metallic luster and is deep yellow in color, however, mixtures of other metals such as silver, copper, nickel, platinum and palladium create various color hues ranging from silver-white to green to rose or pink.

The proportion of pure gold in jewelry is measured by the “Karat” scale (not to be confused with “Carat” which is mainly used as a scale for precious stones). The word carat come the carob seeds which were used to balance scales in ancient Oriental bazaars. In the US, the most popular type of gold used in jewelry is 14K or 18K; 22K or 18K in Europe and 24K or 18K in Asia.

While gold is the traditional metal used in settings for engagement rings, it lost some of its popularity in the bridal market to the “white wave” of Platinum jewelry. However, gold is making a strong come back. You can have more possibilities of colors with gold and can even combine the colors to create various tone effects. For instance, if your preference is white and his is yellow, why not combine the two colors and have a tow-tone effect. For your white metal, you can use white gold or even platinum, while for his yellow metal, he can consider yellow or green gold! Be unique and incorporate the blend of colors as part of your design.