When talking about Yellow Gold Engagement rings, initially we have to choose the type of metal we would like. Here we are talking about the band only and not the gemstone set into the band – only the metal band. A popular selection is Yellow Gold, so let’s take a closer look at Yellow Gold Engagement Rings.
Yellow Gold is one of the most popular choices that most people think of when talking about gold in general. However, initially, we don’t think too much about whether it is white gold, rose gold, or gold plated etc. It is much the same with engagement rings. There are three choices of quality in yellow gold: 18k, 14k and 10k. The most popular choice here is 14k gold. Here is a breakdown to help you understand how 18K, 14K and 10K gold varies.
18k Gold is an amalgam of other metals; generally 75% gold, 12% silver, around 10% copper, and around 2% or so of zinc-nickel. Numbers are +/- in all cases.
14k Gold is an amalgam of other metals; generally 58% gold, 30% silver, around 10% copper, and around 2% or so of zinc-nickel. Numbers are +/- in all cases.
10k Gold is an amalgam of gold and other metals; generally 41% gold, 58% alloy – a composition of 2 or more other metals. Numbers are +/- in all cases.
18K Gold is closer to pure gold (24K) than other selections, and is a popular choice of Yellow Gold Engagement Rings in the Western World today. 18k gold is made up of around 75% pure gold and 25% of other metals including silver and copper. It has a rich yellow appearance, is very attractive to the eye, and being closer to pure gold, it is not quite so hard as 14k. Both 14k and 18k gold is far more affordable to the modern women of today’s Western Culture and always looks beautiful with its traditional yellow appearance. Yellow Gold was also very popular in Victorian times and Victorian antique jewelry that often comes our way.
There are not many disadvantages to choosing 18k gold, but one is that being closer to pure gold, it may be prone to scratching – with its softer properties – especially if you work in an industrial environment, or a place where you may be likely to bump into hard surfaces in the workplace. In such circumstances, many women take their engagement rings off when going to work in industrial situations.
14K Gold is another popular choice which is somewhat cheaper to its 18k counterpart. Certainly, it is a cheaper alternative, although sometimes not that much cheaper depending on other factors. 14K gold is made up of around 58% gold and 42% alloy thus giving it durability, a good mix of purity and tremendous value for money. There are very few disadvantages to wearing 14K gold engagement rings. 14K gold rings have a rich color that is not overly yellow.
Statistics show that around 90% of all engagement and wedding rings for women are made from 14K gold, thus making this an excellent choice when choosing the base metal for your engagement ring.
10K Gold is the lowest gold alloy (mixture of metals) available in today’s marketplace. It is composed of approximately 42% gold and 58% alloy mixture of other metals. One of the advantages of choosing 10k is that it is a little more durable insomuch that it contains far more alloy than gold – when compared to its counterparts – thus making it far more able to stand up to the wear and tear of modern day living. 10K gold used in Yellow Gold Engagement Rings is also the least expensive of all the golds we have covered here. Its yellow color is not so prominent as the 14k and 18k metals. In general, 10k is more commonly used for “more affordable” types of jewelry including earrings and cheaper fashion jewelry.
After reading all about Yellow Gold and its attributes, you may well be interested in visiting our store pages to check out the prices and our stock in Yellow Gold products.
We also have some interesting articles you might like that tell you all about White Gold Engagement Rings – Rose Gold Engagement Rings – Platinum Engagement Rings.
We hope you have enjoyed reading this article about Yellow Gold Engagement rings. This would be a good time to check out our prices and yellow gold engagement rings in our online store.