That beautiful yellow gold ring that you’ve worn forever still means a lot, but perhaps you’re getting a little tired of the look. Or maybe you want to change a yellow gold ring to better match your other white gold and silver jewelry. Is it possible to make your jewelry change color?

The answer is yes, but there are reasons why this may not be the right answer for you. Let’s look at the differences between yellow and white gold and some drawbacks in changing over.

What is White Gold?

Many people think white gold is just a different variety of gold, but that’s not the case. White gold is actually the element gold, which is yellow, mixed with metals like nickel, zinc, silver or palladium that look white. The resulting alloy, or mixture, is about 75% gold and 25% other metal. Often, to make the metal look even more white, it is coated with another metal called rhodium.

How Can Yellow Gold Be Altered to Look White?

Even though you can’t go back and remix your yellow gold to look more silver or white, you can coat it with rhodium. Rhodium is a rare element that resists corrosion and gives the metal it coats an attractive and shiny white appearance.

A knowledgeable jeweler can take your existing yellow gold ring and have it coated with rhodium, also called plating, so it looks like white gold. There are some drawbacks to doing this, however. Rhodium plating:

• May not thoroughly cover intricate or ornate designs, leaving some yellow showing.
• Doesn’t always mix well with other metal alloys. If your yellow gold is not pure (and most is not), any other metals or impurities could prevent the rhodium from sticking. You can’t know how it will work until you try it.
• Can wear over time, so you may need to have it recoated.

Should You Try Rhodium Coating?

Rhodium plating is a great way to change the way a ring looks, especially if you like its design. As well, if rhodium coating doesn’t work, you can usually have it removed and return to the look of yellow gold. While there are some drawbacks, using rhodium can give new life to a treasured ring.