White Gold: White gold is an alloy of gold and at least one white metal, usually nickel or palladium. Since this alloy is never truly white, it is almost always plated with rhodium, a shiny, white metal which is also extremely hard. Wear and tear on jewellery will cause the rhodium plating to wear off, revealing the original metal colour. This is easily remedied by having your jewellery replated to bring back the whiteness and make it look new again.