Rose gold has become an increasingly popular metal in jewelry. Despite its popularity in 2016, rose gold got its start in the 19th century in Imperial Russia. Reowned jeweler to the czars, Carl Faberge, was the first to put this precious metal to use in his most ornate creations. Carl was famous for his Faberge Eggs. By blending together yellow gold and copper it created an alluring pink material that was first coined as “Russian Gold”. As this combination became more popular among jewelers around the world, it was renamed “Rose Gold”.
The color of the rose gold depends on the ratio of gold to copper. The rose gold color can range from a soft pink to a deep red. As copper increases, the color of the gold deepens to red. True rose gold is approximately 75% gold and 22.5% copper and a very small percentage of silver. Adding the small amount of silver lightens the effect of dark copper.
The stylish women of the 1920’s enjoyed dressing in luxurious elegant jewels and flouting conventional standards of behavior. Inspired by vivid colors, jewelers in the 1920’s introduced highly creative designs favoring the use of rose gold in order to add warmth and femininity to the jewel. In particular, Cartier incorporated rose gold into many of their designs at this time.
The crash of 1929 dramatically altered the world’s commercial landscape. This financial crash dramatically impacted the designs of the decade. Jewelry saw a heavy influence of monochromatic and geometric aesthetics, which heavily favored the use of platinum. As World War II unfolded, platinum was considered a strategic mineral to the war. This restricted countries use of platinum and even prohibited its use. Again, gold in both yellow and rose hues was reintroduced into jewelry designs and became the metal of choice.