Rose gold vs white vs yellow gold.
Discussion
I am thinking about treating myself to a dress watch for a big birthday. It will be on a strap.
I cannot decide what colour metal to go for, though.
White gold - Looks sharp with a black strap. Safe choice. But I have plenty of white metal watches.
Yellow gold - History's go-to for a nice bit of jewellery.
Rose gold - Tougher than yellow gold, more common right now - but is it a passing fad?
I am a white dude, so intuitively a white or rose may look better.
Anyone have an opinion on this?
I think what works with your skin colour and the clothes you tend to wear when wearing the watch are good pointers
My wife is pale with red hair and green eyes, so yellow gold works for her, along with the greens she tends to wear. Steel watches tend to look washed out on her. Rose gold good, but yellow works better
I am dark-skinned, so whilst my steel watches look fine, a rose gold dress watch looks good, and also matches my rose gold wedding ring. Yellow gold on us darker folk can look a little bit more garish. So my nicest dress watch is rose gold. Pic below - it is a very subtle rose, so also make sure you see the watch as photos are not often a good guide of how it will look on you.
This looks quite yellow on its own, bit when you put it against my skin the rose colour really comes out. But there are watches with a rose gold blend that look far more pink.
20200501_110504 by baconrashers, on Flickr
My wife is pale with red hair and green eyes, so yellow gold works for her, along with the greens she tends to wear. Steel watches tend to look washed out on her. Rose gold good, but yellow works better
I am dark-skinned, so whilst my steel watches look fine, a rose gold dress watch looks good, and also matches my rose gold wedding ring. Yellow gold on us darker folk can look a little bit more garish. So my nicest dress watch is rose gold. Pic below - it is a very subtle rose, so also make sure you see the watch as photos are not often a good guide of how it will look on you.
This looks quite yellow on its own, bit when you put it against my skin the rose colour really comes out. But there are watches with a rose gold blend that look far more pink.
20200501_110504 by baconrashers, on Flickr
Harry Flashman said:
I think what works with your skin colour and the clothes you tend to wear when wearing the watch are good pointers
My wife is pale with red hair and green eyes, so yellow gold works for her, along with the greens she tends to wear. Steel watches tend to look washed out on her. Rose gold good, but yellow works better
I am dark-skinned, so whilst my steel watches look fine, a rose gold dress watch looks good, and also matches my rose gold wedding ring. Yellow gold on us darker folk can look a little bit more garish. So my nicest dress watch is rose gold. Pic below - it is a very subtle rose, so also make sure you see the watch as photos are not often a good guide of how it will look on you.
This looks quite yellow on its own, bit when you put it against my skin the rose colour really comes out. But there are watches with a rose gold blend that look far more pink.
20200501_110504 by baconrashers, on Flickr
When you say dark skinned Harry are you black black? I've seen yellow gold watches on black chaps and thought they looked great. I tried the same watch myself and it looked on my skin like something out of the Elizabeth Duke seconds bin.My wife is pale with red hair and green eyes, so yellow gold works for her, along with the greens she tends to wear. Steel watches tend to look washed out on her. Rose gold good, but yellow works better
I am dark-skinned, so whilst my steel watches look fine, a rose gold dress watch looks good, and also matches my rose gold wedding ring. Yellow gold on us darker folk can look a little bit more garish. So my nicest dress watch is rose gold. Pic below - it is a very subtle rose, so also make sure you see the watch as photos are not often a good guide of how it will look on you.
This looks quite yellow on its own, bit when you put it against my skin the rose colour really comes out. But there are watches with a rose gold blend that look far more pink.
20200501_110504 by baconrashers, on FlickrLouis Balfour said:
When you say dark skinned Harry are you black black? I've seen yellow gold watches on black chaps and thought they looked great. I tried the same watch myself and it looked on my skin like something out of the Elizabeth Duke seconds bin.
Brown, rather than black. Yellow gold looks a bit naff on me! Harry Flashman said:
Louis Balfour said:
When you say dark skinned Harry are you black black? I've seen yellow gold watches on black chaps and thought they looked great. I tried the same watch myself and it looked on my skin like something out of the Elizabeth Duke seconds bin.
Brown, rather than black. Yellow gold looks a bit naff on me! The Moose said:
Is my memory playing tricks on me or I right in thinking you’re Indian when you say brown? (Apologies if I’ve got that wrong). I always think yellow gold looks nice on darker (white) skin and Indian/brown. My mum is significantly darker skinned than I am, especially after some tanning, and yellow on me doesn’t look great - yellow suits her!
Not quite: Sri Lankan ethnically (although from far less exotic Surrey by upbringing!), but folk from Sri Lanka can vary a great deal in shade. My sister is far lighter than me and almost looks Mediterranean, whereas I am a darker shade. Darker skin means you can wear colour quite easily, including on watches. My wife, who is very pale, tends to stick to gentler tones.
Harry Flashman said:
The Moose said:
Is my memory playing tricks on me or I right in thinking you’re Indian when you say brown? (Apologies if I’ve got that wrong). I always think yellow gold looks nice on darker (white) skin and Indian/brown. My mum is significantly darker skinned than I am, especially after some tanning, and yellow on me doesn’t look great - yellow suits her!
Not quite: Sri Lankan ethnically (although from far less exotic Surrey by upbringing!), but folk from Sri Lanka can vary a great deal in shade. My sister is far lighter than me and almost looks Mediterranean, whereas I am a darker shade. Darker skin means you can wear colour quite easily, including on watches. My wife, who is very pale, tends to stick to gentler tones.
I guess there’s also an element of what you get used to. I’m pretty pale most of the time and have 1 ring in yellow gold. Sentimental otherwise I wouldn’t wear it. Wish it was plat!
Harry Flashman said:
Here's rose gold against dark skin. You'll see that the tone of my skin mutes the rose and makes it look a bit more yellow, whereas yellow gold looks very yellow on me.
So OP - definitely try a watch on before buying!
Absolutely. I plan on hitting the Patek boutique this very week!So OP - definitely try a watch on before buying!
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