White gold is a relatively recent gold alloy which first found application in jewellery at the beginning of the 20th century. The yellow golden colour of the gold is removed through the addition of palladium. Palladium is a member of the same group of elements in the periodic table as platinum, but is noticeably lighter. In addition, palladium is available in much greater quantities which makes it considerably more attractively priced than platinum. As it is an alloy, many different colours can be realised by changing the mixture. This enables colour variations which even include a light white shimmering gold colour, giving white gold wedding rings a very special aura.