18k Yellow Gold Diamond Earring Settings
Gold is the symbol of material success and worldly status, a glittering reminder of power. Since ancient times, the metal has symbolized both balance (“the golden mean”) and prosperity (“the golden age.”) When a man gives woman gold earrings, he is staking his claim to her; when a woman buys gold earrings for herself, the act is testimony to her value in her own eyes. In either case, gold is a winning proposition. Perhaps more than any other item of jewelry, gold earrings are an elegant means of display, a tasteful way of saying, “Look at me.”
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Yellow Gold Earrings
Gold earrings come in a variety of different colors, carats and shapes. The two most common colors are yellow and white. Twenty-four carat gold earrings are pure gold and so always yellow, but pure gold is soft and not particularly durable. A pair of 18-carat yellow gold earrings contains the same amount of pure gold as a pair of 18-carat white gold earrings, but the gold has been mixed with different alloys before it is crafted into jewelry. Traditionally, the alloy metals used in the creation of yellow gold are copper and zinc, while the alloy metals in white gold are silver and palladium. White gold might appear grey were it not for the rhodium coating which heightens its silvery luster. While white gold is more scratch resistant than yellow gold, the rhodium layer may need to be reapplied as often as once a year.
Over the past few years, white gold has seen a surge of popularity. Part of this, of course, is due to considerations like personal taste, but part of it is due to white gold’s qualities as a setting for precious stones. If the gems set in your gold earrings are a pale color – a delicate aquamarine perhaps, or a translucent pink sapphire – they may reflect a brassy tint if set in yellow gold. On the other hand, if your gold earrings showcase gems that are richer and deeper in color – a deep blue sapphire, for example – yellow gold will add sparkle and contrast to the gem.
Just as the perfect hair style compliments the shape of your face, so will the perfectly chosen pair of gold earrings. Women and men with classic oval shaped faces – wide cheekbones, tapered chin, and narrow forehead – can pull off the widest variety of shapes and styles in gold earrings from studs to dangles. People with rounder faces, on the other hand, may want to choose longer gold earrings that add a bit of angularity to their look. Oblong and rectangular gold earrings also accent this face shape well. Finally if you have a strong chin and a broad forehead with a square hairline, you have the classic angular face and will look best in gold earrings that suggest roundness, like hoop gold earrings or teardrop shapes.