What is white gold? An alloy, usually rhodium plated, and the karat rule that applies

White gold is an alloy of gold and at least one white metal, usually nickel or palladium, according to Wikipedia's entry on the material. It is graded in karats like yellow gold, and most pieces are coated with a thin layer of rhodium to get the bright finish buyers expect. Under the Federal Trade Commission's Jewelry Guides, the word "gold" on any alloy needs a karat number in front of it. We read the Guides in the eCFR on October 24, 2026.

How white gold gets its color

Pure gold is yellow. To make it look white, jewelers mix it with white metals. Wikipedia names nickel and palladium as the usual choices and gives a common formulation of 90 percent gold and 10 percent nickel by mass. Copper can be added to increase malleability. The properties of the alloy change with the recipe: a nickel alloy is hard and strong, which suits rings and pins, while gold and palladium alloys behave differently.

Some alloys are good enough to hold a shine. Wikipedia says that while some higher quality white gold alloys keep their luster, most are coated with a very thin layer of rhodium. The coating gives the naturally duller white gold a shine comparable to platinum or silver, and the same entry says the rhodium may wear off over time.

That last sentence is the one most buyers do not hear at the counter. The bright white finish is often a plating on top of the real alloy. When it wears, the alloy underneath shows, and it is less white. Re-plating is routine jeweler's work, not a flaw. Wikipedia's sources do not give a timeline for how long a finish lasts, so we will not either.

The karat rule

Karats measure gold content out of 24. The FTC Guides treat 24 karat as fine gold. In 16 CFR 23.3(b)(1), using the bare word "gold" is misleading for anything not composed throughout of fine, 24 karat gold. In 23.3(b)(2), the word gold on an alloy, meaning gold that is less than 24 karats, is misleading unless a correct karat designation immediately precedes it and is at least equally conspicuous.

Apply that to white gold. A ring sold as 14 karat white gold is gold alloyed down to 14 parts in 24. By simple arithmetic that is about 58.3 percent gold by weight, with the balance made up of the white metals. The same ring sold simply as "white gold" with no karat number is the use the section describes as misleading.

The Guides add rules for plated surfaces. Section 23.3(b)(3) says a product that is surface plated with gold alloy cannot be called gold unless the word is qualified to show it is only plated. Section 23.3(b)(5) requires plated products to carry a coating of reasonable durability and the karat of the plating ahead of the term. If you want those thresholds spelled out, our explainer on gold plated, gold filled and vermeil walks through them.

Where rhodium shows up in the Guides

Rhodium is one of the platinum group metals, and the Guides give them their own section. Section 23.6 says it is unfair or deceptive to use the words platinum, iridium, palladium, ruthenium, rhodium or osmium, or any abbreviation, to mark or describe an industry product if the description misrepresents its true composition. It lists platinum, iridium, palladium, ruthenium, rhodium and osmium together as the platinum group metals.

The platinum thresholds in that section are specific: the unqualified word platinum needs a product composed throughout of 950 parts per thousand pure platinum, and nothing below 500 parts per thousand can be called platinum at all. That is why a white gold ring with a rhodium finish is a gold ring, not a platinum one.

What the Guides do not say

We searched the text of Part 23 for the phrase "white gold" and found no definition of it. White gold is not a defined term in the Guides. It is an alloy, so the karat rule applies to it as it does to any gold alloy. That is worth knowing, because it means the protection you get is the karat number, not the color name.

The Guides are also advice. Section 23.0 says conduct inconsistent with them may bring corrective action under the FTC Act, but they do not bind the agency or the public.

Why the karat number matters more than the color

Two rings can look identical in a display case and carry different amounts of gold. Because white gold is defined by its recipe, not its color, the only fixed point a buyer gets is the karat fineness the Guides require ahead of the word gold. A higher karat means more gold in the alloy and less of the white metal. Neither number says anything about how thick the rhodium coat is, which the sources we opened do not quantify.

What to ask before you buy

Three questions cover it. What is the karat? Is the piece rhodium plated? What are the white metals in the alloy? The first answer should be on the label, since the Guides require a karat designation. The second tells you whether you will be re-plating. The third matters if you know a metal does not suit you. Wikipedia notes that white gold alloys use nickel or palladium, so the answer differs from piece to piece.

Our take

White gold is real gold, but it is a recipe, not a metal. The karat number is the claim that matters, and the rhodium finish is a maintenance item. We would buy a piece with a stated karat and plating, and skip a listing that offers only the color name. If a seller cannot say whether it is plated, assume it is.