The 2026 Met Gala took place on May 4th. This year’s theme, Costume Art, curated by Andrew Bolton, with the dress code “Fashion Is Art”, gave attendees the chance to go as over the top as they wanted. And when it came to jewellery choices, a lot of them took that challenge very seriously.
Since 1948, the Met Gala has gathered some of the most recognizable names in entertainment, fashion, and culture for one night at the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York City. The gowns tend to steal the spotlight, but look a little closer, past the glitz and the glamour, and the jewellery has its own story to tell. This year, that story was largely written in gold.
White Gold, Yellow Gold, Rose Gold: What’s the Difference?
Here is something that surprises a lot of people: white gold is not actually a different metal. Neither is rose gold. At their core, they are all gold. The difference is in what gets mixed in.
Yellow Gold is what most people picture when they think of gold jewellery. It is gold combined with copper and silver, which gives it that warm, familiar colour.
White Gold is made by mixing metals like nickel, silver, or palladium, which dilutes the yellow tone. It’s usually plated with a metal called rhodium that gives it that bright, silvery-white look.
Rose Gold gets its warm tone from a higher ratio of copper in the mix. The more copper, the warmer and pinker the result.
What stays the same across all three is the karat. An 18-karat white gold ring and an 18-karat yellow gold ring of the same weight contain the same amount of gold. The colour is a style choice, it doesn’t change the precious metal value.
What Was Actually on the Carpet
According to Only Natural Diamonds, the jewellery choices this year leaned heavily into 18-karat gold across all three colour variations.
Sabrina Carpenter wore Chopard drop earrings and two diamond eternity bands in 18-karat white gold, along with two diamond necklaces that hung from the back of her dress and looped through her fingers on both hands.
Amanda Seyfried wore a Tiffany & Co. necklace in 18-karat yellow gold and platinum, blue zircons, emeralds, and diamonds, paired with Jean Schlumberger earrings in the same combination of platinum and 18-karat yellow gold.
Connor Storrie wore a Jean Schlumberger by Tiffany & Co. brooch on his lapel, set in platinum and 18-karat yellow gold with a rubellite of over 3 carats and natural diamonds.
Three very different looks. Three very different styles. The same material running through all of them.
What This Means If You Own Gold Jewellery
Gold jewellery comes in a lot of colours, but when it comes to determining value, colour is not part of the equation. Whether it is yellow, white, or rose gold, what matters is purity and weight, nothing more, nothing less.
If you have gold jewellery at home and have been wondering what it is worth at today’s prices, at Canada Gold we offer free, no-obligation evaluations at all of our locations. Our team will test your pieces, explain exactly how the value is determined, and give you a clear offer you can trust.
Interested in learning more? Visit a Canada Gold location today, no appointment needed.
