Rose Gold
Also: Red Gold (lighter variant), Pink Gold, Russian Gold
Rose gold is a gold alloy with a characteristic pink to reddish hue created by a deliberate copper content.
Rose gold owes its warm, pink to reddish shimmer entirely to its alloying partner copper. The higher the copper content, the more intense and reddish the hue — which is why the boundary between rose gold and red gold is fluid and follows convention rather than any binding standard. You can quickly determine the fineness of the pure gold content using the melt value calculator.
Composition and Colour Range
The colour of rose gold results from the ratio of gold, copper, and a smaller silver content. Silver lightens the alloy and softens the red tone; without silver, a stronger red is produced, which is referred to as red gold.
Typical compositions at a glance:
| Name | Fineness | Gold | Copper | Silver |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Rose Gold 18 karat | 750 ‰ | 75.0% | 20.0–22.5% | 2.5–5.0% |
| Rose Gold 14 karat | 585 ‰ | 58.5% | 30.0–33.0% | 8.5–11.5% |
| Red Gold 18 karat | 750 ‰ | 75.0% | 25.0% | 0% |
The gold price always refers to pure fine gold (999.9 ‰); rose gold contains only the stated gold proportion — the remainder consists of base alloying metals that carry no precious metal value.
Properties and Processing
Copper makes rose gold noticeably harder than pure yellow gold of the same fineness. This has practical advantages:
- Higher scratch resistance — jewellery retains its surface finish longer.
- Good dimensional stability — filigree settings and thin ring shanks are possible.
- Lower material cost — copper is considerably cheaper than gold; the copper price is far below the gold price.
The downside is that copper can tarnish: sweat and acids attack the surface and can cause skin irritation in sensitive wearers. Unlike white gold, rose gold is typically not rhodium-plated, since the colour of the base metal is the design objective.
Fineness and Hallmarking
In Germany and the EU, gold alloys are hallmarked according to their gold content in per mille. Rose gold carries the same statutory fineness hallmarks as any other gold alloy:
750 ‰ = 18 karat rose gold → Gold content: 75.0%
585 ‰ = 14 karat rose gold → Gold content: 58.5%
333 ‰ = 8 karat rose gold → Gold content: 33.3%
A piece marketed as "rose gold" does not necessarily have to be 18 karat. When purchasing, it is worth checking the stamped hallmark, which indicates the actual fineness. The material value of a rose gold piece — based on the current gold price — can be quickly calculated using the gold calculator.
Distinction from Similar Terms
- Red gold: little or no silver, copper content ≥ 25% → distinctly more reddish tone.
- Yellow gold: classic gold-silver-copper mixture without a colour shift towards red.
- Tombac: copper-zinc alloy without any gold content, gold-coloured, not a precious metal.
- Vermeil: silver jewellery with a thick gold coating — not solid rose gold.
In Brief
Rose gold is not a modern invention — it was already popular in 19th-century Russian jewellery workshops and occasionally bears the historical name "Russian gold". Anyone wishing to determine the exact material value of a rose gold piece should simply multiply the gold content (fineness × weight) by the current gold price — copper and silver play only a minor role in the buying price.