Gold Color

Whereas most metals are gray or silvery white, gold is slightly reddish-yellow. This color is
determined by the frequency of plasma oscillations among the metal's valence electrons, in
the ultraviolet range for most metals but in the visible range for gold due to relativistic
effects affecting the orbitals around gold atoms. Similar effects impart a golden hue to
metallic caesium.

Common colored gold alloys include the distinctive eighteen-karat rose gold created by the
addition of copper. Alloys containing palladium or nickel are also important in commercial
jewelry as these produce white gold alloys. Fourteen-karat gold-copper alloy is nearly
identical in color to certain bronze alloys, and both may be used to produce police and other
badges. Fourteen- and eighteen-karat gold alloys with silver alone appear greenish-yellow
and are referred to as green gold. Blue gold can be made by alloying with iron, and purple
gold can be made by alloying with aluminium. Less commonly, addition of manganese,
indium, and other elements can produce more unusual colors of gold for various
applications.

Colloidal gold, used by electron-microscopists, is red if the particles are small; larger
particles of colloidal gold are blue.