Is Rose Gold Hypoallergenic? And Which Forms of Rose Gold are Most Likely to Cause Skin Allergies?

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Is rose gold hypoallergenic?

Which rose gold alloys are most dangerous for people with sensitive skin and known metal skin allergies?

Is rose gold jewelry safe or not?

Learn it all right below!

TLDR- Is Rose Gold Hypoallergenic or Allergenic?

Rose gold is hypoallergenic. Rose gold jewelry is unlikely to cause allergic reactions in most people.

However, individuals with copper sensitivity may experience mild reactions from copper within the rose gold alloy.

Also, the redder the jewelry item, the higher the copper content and lower the amount of pure yellow gold.

For example, 8k rose gold is noticeably redder than 18k rose gold. The former has way more copper than the latter, and the former is way more allergenic than the latter.

The photo bellow shows someone with clear signs of copper allergy. That’s the type of skin blemish you’ll encounter if you’re allergic to copper and you start wearing rose gold jewelry.

And below the first image there’s an image of a woman with rose gold allergy. She isn’t sure if its from the copper in the alloy or from nickel impurities within the alloy.

Rose gold allergy on the neck stemming from potential nickel impurity within the rose gold alloy. — Rose gold allergy on the neck stemming from potential nickel impurity within the rose gold alloy

Here’s an awesome quiz about rose gold’s allergenic properties. Take it after you’ve read my guide for your best results.

Is Rose Gold Hypoallergenic? And Which Forms of Rose Gold are Most Likely to Cause Skin Allergies?

Table of Contents

Is Pure Rose Gold Hypoallergenic?

No, pure rose gold isn’t hypoallergenic. Because pure rose gold doesn’t exist.

Rose gold is an alloy of yellow gold and other metals, mainly copper. Copper gives rose gold its pinkish-red hue.

The more copper the rose gold alloy has, the redder the final jewelry product will be.

Occasionally, small amounts of silver are added to rose gold alloy to adjust the color and improve the metal’s workability and durability.

Is 18k Rose Gold Hypoallergenic? What about 14k Rose Gold?

Yes, 18k rose gold is hypoallergenic to most people, excluding those with copper allergies.

18K rose gold contains 75% pure gold and 25% copper+ some other metals in miniscule amounts. Pure yellow gold isn’t allergenic ,and copper is a low risk allergen for most people.

14K rose gold is also hypoallergenic to most people, excluding those with copper allergies. This means 14k rose gold jewelry is unlikely to cause severe allergic reactions in most people.

14K rose gold contains 58.3% pure gold and the remaining 41.7% is made up of copper+ some other metal in trace amounts.

This gold alloy is more allergenic compared to 18k rose gold because it contains significantly more copper, and significantly less yellow gold.

Copper is a relatively weak metal allergen

What about other rose gold karats? Are they hypoallergenic or allergenic?

8k rose gold isn’t hypoallergenic. It’s allergenic. 8k rose gold is allergenic because the copper amount is too high and people with copper sensitivity will have a strong reaction to 8k rose gold jewelry. 8K rose gold is an alloy of 33.3% pure yellow gold and 66.7% of copper+ other metals in trace amounts. 8k rose gold is hypoallergenic for people who don’t respond to copper.
9k rose gold isn’t hypoallergenic. It’s allergenic. 9K rose gold is allergenic because the copper amount is too high and people with copper sensitivity will have a strong reaction to 9k rose gold jewelry. 9K rose gold is an alloy of 37.5% pure yellow gold and 62.5% of copper+ other metals in trace amounts. 9k rose gold is hypoallergenic for people who don’t respond to copper.
10k rose gold isn’t hypoallergenic. It’s allergenic. 10k rose gold is allergenic because the copper amount is too high and people with copper sensitivity will have a strong reaction to 10k rose gold jewelry. 10k rose gold is an alloy of 41.7% pure yellow gold and 58.3% of copper+ other metals in trace amounts. 10k rose gold is hypoallergenic for people who don’t respond to copper.
12k rose gold isn’t hypoallergenic. It’s allergenic.12k rose gold is allergenic because the copper amount is too high and people with copper sensitivity will have a strong reaction to 12k rose gold jewelry. 12K rose gold is an alloy of 50% pure yellow gold and 50% of copper+ other metals in trace amounts. 12k rose gold is hypoallergenic for people who don’t respond to copper.
20k rose gold is potentially hypoallergenic. 20k rose gold contains 83.33% pure yellow gold and 16.67% of copper+ some other metals in trace amounts. 20k rose gold isn’t allergenic because the amount of yellow gold is very high, while the amount of copper is too small to cause a reaction in most people. However, people with copper sensitivities should approach this rose gold alloy carefully.
22k rose gold is hypoallergenic. 22K rose gold contains 91.67% pure yellow gold and 8.33% of copper+ some other metals in trace amounts. 22k rose gold isn’t allergenic because the amount of yellow gold is very high, while the amount of copper is too small to cause a reaction in most people. However, people with copper sensitivities should approach this rose gold alloy carefully.

Pro tip: copper allergies are relatively uncommon, but still afflict a notable percentage of people.

Nickel allergies are far more common and nickel allergies are sometimes the reasons for an emerging rose gold allergy. Because, even though rose gold doesn’t contain any nickel by design, it can be contaminate with this metal allergen.

So, you should do skin tests for copper and nickel allergies, but your should also test your problematic rose gold jewelry to see if it’s contaminated with nickel.

If it is, you could replate it as it’s impossible for most jewelers to extract nickel from rose gold alloy.

Finally, don’t forget that a piece of jewelry can irritate the skin without it being an allergic reaction. For example, trapped moisture, debris, lotion, soap, or even dead can cause your skin to become irritated and inflamed.

In this case just do a thorough cleaning of the irritated skin spot and try again. You might be pleasantly surprised to learn you’re not allergic to rose gold at all.

Here’s an example of a person who wore here ring for 15 years without any issues. This indicated she wasn’t allergic to it. And then suddenly t started giving her a rash.

It’s because there was something on the skin surface getting irritated by the metal surface of the ring. The dermatitis symptoms disappeared once she thoroughly cleaned the spot.

Example of a dermatitis bout caused by some skin irregularity reacting to a metal surface of the ring.

Is Rose Gold Vermeil Hypoallergenic?

Yes, rose gold vermeil is hypoallergenic to everyone except people with copper allergies.

Rose gold vermeil consists of a sterling silver base that’s coated with a rose gold layer.

People allergic to sterling silver won’t have a reaction to rose gold vermeil if the rose gold plating is intact and sterling silver unexposed.

People allergic to copper are also allergic to rose gold vermeil if the rose gold plating is made with 8k, 9k, 10k, or 12k rose gold. These alloys contain too much copper to be safe for people whose skin gets dermatitis upon physical contact with copper.

Rose gold vermeil jewelry made with14k, 18k, 20k and 22k rose gold is potentially safe for people with coper allergies.

However, you’ll need to test yourself to see how you respond to higher karatage rose gold alloys.

Is Rose Gold Bullion Hypoallergenic?

Rose gold bullion isn’t hypoallergenic because rose gold bullion doesn’t exist. There’re no rose gold bars and coins you can buy, and rose gold as an alloy is mostly used in jewelry crafting and design.

You can buy IRA-eligible gold from legitimate US gold investment companies.

A good example is Augusta Precious Metals. Augusta allow you to both open a gold IRA account with them and purchase physical pure yellow gold bullion to safeguard in your house.

With Augusta you won’t have to worry about gold IRA scams that are rampant online.