Gold Rings

Choose by the look you want around the center. White gold makes a colorless center read brighter and suits cool tones; the rhodium layer on it thins with wear and is simple to replate. Yellow gold warms the stone and gives a vintage feel, especially with milgrain. Nearly every setting on this page comes in both, so compare them on one design.

10K gold is cheaper. It holds 41.7% pure gold against 58.3% in 14K, so less precious metal goes into the setting. 10K is also slightly harder and a little paler. On these settings you pick the karat on the product page and the setting price updates; the stone itself is billed on its own.

Not quite. 14K only means the metal is 58.3% pure gold; the other metals mixed in set the color. Yellow, white and rose 14K gold share the same gold content but look different, and white gold is usually rhodium plated. When a listing says only "14K gold," it usually means yellow.

At the same karat, the gold content is identical, so the price gap between colors is small. White gold can run slightly higher, since it is plated and often alloyed with pricier white metals. Karat matters far more than color: 18K costs more than 14K, which costs more than 10K, in any color.

Yes, under enough force. Gold is a soft metal, and thin bands or higher karats bend most easily; a hard knock or gripping weights can push a shank out of round. 10K and 14K resist this better than 18K. A thicker shank helps, and the prongs holding your center deserve a check each year.