Rose Gold
Also: Pink gold, Red gold (lighter variant)
Rose gold is a gold alloy with a distinctive pink to reddish hue created by a deliberate copper content.
Rose gold owes its warm, pink to reddish glow entirely to its alloying partner copper. The higher the copper content, the stronger and redder the tone becomes, which is why the boundary between rose gold and red gold is fluid and follows convention rather than any binding standard. You can quickly work out the fineness of the pure gold contained in a piece with the melt value calculator.
Composition and colour scale
The colour of rose gold arises from the ratio of gold, copper and a smaller share of silver. Silver lightens the alloy and softens the red tone; without silver a stronger red emerges, which is referred to as red gold.
Typical compositions at a glance:
| Designation | Fineness | Gold | Copper | Silver |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Rose gold 18 carat | 750 per mille | 75.0% | 20.0-22.5% | 2.5-5.0% |
| Rose gold 14 carat | 585 per mille | 58.5% | 30.0-33.0% | 8.5-11.5% |
| Red gold 18 carat | 750 per mille | 75.0% | 25.0% | 0% |
The gold price always refers to pure fine gold (999.9 per mille); rose gold contains only the stated gold proportion, with the remainder made up of base alloying metals that carry no precious metal value.
Properties and working characteristics
Copper makes rose gold noticeably harder than pure yellow gold of the same fineness. This brings practical advantages:
- Greater scratch resistance - jewellery keeps its surface longer.
- Good dimensional stability - delicate settings and thin ring shanks are possible.
- Lower material cost - copper is far cheaper than gold; the copper price sits well below the gold price.
The downside is that copper can tarnish: sweat and acids attack the surface and, in sensitive wearers, may cause skin irritation. Unlike white gold, rose gold is usually not rhodium-plated, since the colour of the base metal is the whole design intention.
Fineness and hallmarking
In 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 per mille = 18 carat rose gold -> gold content: 75.0%
585 per mille = 14 carat rose gold -> gold content: 58.5%
333 per mille = 8 carat rose gold -> gold content: 33.3%
A piece marketed as "rose gold" need not necessarily be 18 carat. When buying, it is worth checking the stamped hallmark, which indicates the actual fineness. You can quickly work out the material value of a rose gold piece, based on the current gold price, in the gold calculator.
Distinguishing similar terms
- Red gold: little or no silver, copper content of 25% or more, giving a distinctly redder tone.
- Yellow gold: the classic gold-silver-copper mixture with no colour shift towards red.
- Tombac: a copper-zinc alloy without any gold, gold-coloured, not a precious metal.
- Vermeil: silver jewellery with a thick gold layer, not solid rose gold.
In a nutshell
Rose gold is nothing new: it was already popular in Russian jewellery workshops in the 19th century, which is why it is sometimes still called "Russian gold". To work out the exact material value of a rose gold piece, simply multiply the gold content (fineness times weight) by the current gold price; copper and silver play only a minor role in the purchase price.