Alloys

Humans have been fascinated by the beauty of gold for thousands of years. Gold was already used in South-East Europe as early as around 4,000 BC, and not only was it used to create ritual objects - gold has also always been used to make coins and jewelry.

The original Indo-European word for gold “ghel” means yellow and shining. The Latin word for gold is aurum, which is also the basis for the chemical element symbol AU.

The original color of gold is a warm yellow. This can be changed by adding silver and copper.

Gold is found in primary sources, where it is still attached to rock, or in secondary, detached deposits such as in rivers. Depending on the type of deposit, gold is won by using machines or through gold panning, which takes a lot more time. Nowadays, extraction sites for gold can be found in South Africa, Russia, North and South America, and Australia.

Rose and red gold alloys are created by adding copper. At acredo, we create white gold by adding the valuable palladium instead of the cheaper manganese, which is often used.

White gold is available in different alloys. These differ greatly in both color and price.

For our high acredo quality, we exclusively use the valuable palladium-white gold. This creates a natural, white-grey color.

In contrast, manganese-white gold still has a slightly yellow color and tends to discolor.

Rhodium plating provides jewelry made from white gold with additional protection and also makes it shine in an even brighter shade of white.

At acredo, we offer white gold in 585 (14 ct) and 750 (18 ct), acredo Smart also comes with 375 (9 ct).

Red gold reminds us of fire. It is extravagant and bold.

Similar to rose gold, its special characteristics are perfectly emphasised in combination with white precious metals that accentuate the contrast.

Red gold has a particularly high copper content and is therefore particularly hard.

At acredo, we offer red gold in 585 (14 ct) and 750 (18 ct), acredo Smart also comes with 375 (9 ct).

Palladium is a precious metal of the platinum group. Its chemical element symbol is PD. It has been known since the beginning of the 18th century and is mainly sourced in Australia, North and South America, Russia and Ethiopia. Like gold or platinum, palladium is an exchange-traded metal.

At acredo, we offer: palladium 585, which has a dark grey color and palladium 950, which is a white alloy.

The color of palladium with its silvery shine is very resistant. This makes palladium a true alternative to white gold.

Platinum gold with a 97.3% share of precious metals and 950 platinum parts is the clearest alloy currently available on the global markets.

Platinum gold (PTAU) has a fascinating character and excellent material properties. The Vickers hardness for uni-colored wedding rings is 270 HV and 240 HV for multi-colored rings. If the alloy is used for casting, the hardness reaches 170 HV.

Thanks to the high purity of platinum gold, its allergy potential is exceptionally low, and the alloy does not contain any allergenic substances such as cobalt.

Platinum gold is used for the production of wedding rings and jewelry and stands out with its beautiful white color. It thus provides a unique stage for the radiance of precious stones and especially diamonds.

Rhodium (RH) is a silver-white, hard metal, which was discovered in 1803. It mainly comes from South Africa, Canada and Siberia.

In the rhodium plating process, a piece of jewelry is coated with a very fine layer of rhodium. This is done in a galvanic rhodium bath using electric currents.

The rhodium plating process adds a protective coating to the jewelry, which makes it slightly more resistant. Rhodium plating also prevents discoloring. It enhances the jewelry’s natural shine.

At acredo, we use rhodium plating for jewelry and wedding rings in white gold.