Part 7 of a series on metals. 

  #6766 Red gold Sautoir.

There is no question that gold is the most popular metal in the world.  What color is gold? Gold of course and that's what most people love, love, love. 

True, there are fads when 'gold gold' falls into lesser favor, but on the whole, it has stuck in our minds as the most beautiful and most valuable of metals for centuries. 

Let's take a little peep at some of the variations. 

The oldest and most commonly found variation of 'gold gold' is red or pink gold. The color is obtained by adding copper to the gold alloy. See our previous posts on metals if you are unfamiliar with alloys. 
Add a little copper to yellow gold and you will get a pink tinge. As you add more copper to the mix, the color will deepen and become more red. 

#7619 Nouveau mixed gold colors. 

Green gold has actually been around since antiquity, when it occurred naturally in riverbeds and was called electrum.  Closer to our age, a number of formulae were used to create green gold. The essential idea is that more silver is added to the gold and less copper. On the whole, green gold is used as one element in a more complex metal item and not for the entire jewel.
In case the chemistry really fascinates you, cadmium was used to make green gold.

During World War I jewelers created white gold as an alternative to silver or platinum which were unavailable due to the war. Yes, there were fads and when platinum was not available or was too expensive, white gold substituted. Again, various metals were used to reduce the golden tone of gold. Amongst them nickel and palladium. Nickel is neither too healthy nor hygienic for the wearer.  Palladium is hypoallergenic.  Rhodium plating was discussed a few posts ago and was used to cover yellow gold and produce a brilliant white effect. 
Tip: If you buy white gold jewelry, it cannot be much earlier than the Art Deco era (1920's). If someone is selling you a Georgian jewel in white gold, red flags should immediately sound a warning. There was no white gold in the Georgian or even the Victorian era. 

#5318 Boucheron ring in yellow and white gold.

Exotic tones of gold like purple, blue and black have been produced in recent years, but they are not terribly popular and restricted to newer jewelry than our topic of interest - antique jewelry.  

Sometimes, it's quite difficult to differentiate the tone of gold as the difference between colors may be very subtle. Sometimes, it is quite clear.

Nowhere has the variation of colors been put to better use than in 'mixed metal' jewelry and other artifacts. Influenced by the Japanese in the Meiji period, late 19th century, Europeans and especially Americans went crazy about so-called 'mixed metals'. Sometimes silver, bronze, brass and gold were used to create naturalistic scenes on boxes and vases; sometimes a variety of gold tones were used to create naturalistic links in a bracelet or brooch. 
Look out for Shakudo - naturalistic scenes created from various metals and found in items from buttons to bracelets. Shibayama is more complex and includes other, non-metallic components such as coral, ivory, mother of pearl, but also a variety of metals ranging from brass to gold. 

                                                                        #3164 Shibayama box. 
    

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