Rose Gold: The Bronzer of the Jewelry World

The past 5 years or so has seen a huge resurgence in rose gold jewelry available in the marketplace. Rose gold jewelry enjoyed some popularity in the United States at the turn of the 20th century but then fell out of favor over time. For many yellow gold was the “it” color for gold, denoting luxury and opulence. Then white metals came into fashion, i.e., platinum, white gold and sterling silver.  The market has become so saturated with white gold jewelry that now the trend is starting to shift away from white gold and white metal jewelry in general. Don’t get me wrong, white metal does show a white diamond to it’s full magnificent glory and depending on how the diamond is set, the prongs can virtually disappear. However, white gold in particular requires more maintenance to keep its sparkly white appearance in the form of regular Rhodium-plating. People are often unaware when they purchase white gold jewelry that it will need Rhodium-plating in the future, especially pieces that are worn daily, like bridal jewelry.

So what is rose gold exactly? All gold (Periodic table symbol AU) starts out yellow. It is then alloyed with other metals to make it 10K, 14K or 18K (the gold standards in the US). When a small percentage of copper is added to the yellow gold you get rose gold which has a wondrous soft, pinkish, coppery glow.

What’s in a name? Different designers call their rose gold by different names. Le Vian uses the trademarked name Strawberry Gold.  Other companies call it red gold. Some call is pink gold and some rose gold. It is all the same thing, yellow gold with copper added to it.

Rose gold jewelry is available at all price points and in both fine and costume jewelry. A recently perusal of Target and Kohl’s showed a number of pieces with rose gold or rose gold-tone accents in their costume jewelry collections. Everyone from JC Penneys, to Macy’s, to high-end retailers such as Neiman Marcus and Tiffany are featuring more and more rose gold jewelry. Even mass-market chain jewelers such as Helzberg and Sterling (Jared, Kay, JB Robinson and about 8 more brands) have rose gold offerings.

Styles of rose gold jewelry range from vintage to modern. Simon G is known for his beautiful vintage two-tone (rose and white gold) jewelry. Other jewelers such as GelinAbaci have gorgeous offerings in rose gold that are modern and sleek in style. Another favorite of mine is MaeVona which offers many graceful modern styles in rose gold and a variety of two-tone combinations.  There is even an online retailer whose website is entirely devoted to rose gold jewelry, Rosegoldjewelry.com.

So why should you consider adding rose gold to your jewelry collection? Rose gold is the bronzer of the jewelry world. It looks great on every skin tone and with every hair color. It gives your skin a wonderful lift and glow, just like a sweep of bronzer. It can look crisp and clean or vintage and delicate depending on the style you choose. It is often paired with white gold or even with white AND yellow gold for a tri-color effect. Rose gold is even being seen in men’s jewelry, especially watches and wedding bands where it is paired with another metal for a two-tone look.  Simmons Jewelry Company is even pairing rose gold plated links with black rubber for very stylish men’s bracelets.