Gold and Gold Alloys

Metals Are Used to Change the Color of Gold
Have you ever been confused by the terms white gold, green gold, and rose gold? All real gold is yellow, isn't it, so how do other colors fit in—are they imitations? They aren't imitations at at all--they are alloys, new metals that are created by combining two or more different metals.

Gold Alloys
Colored gold alloys are just as "real" as their golden colored counterparts. Pure gold is generally too soft to be used for jewelry, so other metals are nearly always added to it, no matter which color of gold is being prepped for jewelry making.
Chances are the ring on your finger is marked 18K, 14K, or 10K to indicate how much pure gold is present in the mix. The K stands for karat, the system used to state how much pure gold is found in an item.


Gold Karat Markings
24K gold is pure gold.

18K gold contains 18 parts gold and 6 parts of another metal(s), making it 75% gold.

14K gold contains 14 parts gold and 10 parts of another metal(s), making it 58.3% gold.

12K gold contains 12 parts gold and 12 parts of another metal(s), making it 50% gold.

10K gold contains 10 parts gold and 14 parts another metal(s), making it 41.7% gold.