Fashion

White gold, and so did white gold jewellery like white gold engagement rings, began gaining a lot of popularity at the beginning of the twentieth century as an alternative to platinum.
Platinum was steadily becoming more and more fashionable, but because of its scarceness, many people could just not afford to buy it.
Whether it is platinum or gold, these metals are considered to be noble metals because they are very resistant to corrosion and oxidation. They are also extremely scarce and expensive to buy.

The turning point came when during the Second World War many governments like the one in the United Kingdom put a ban on the use of Platinum for any non-military functions. As a result, the demand for white gold engagement rings and other type of jewellery simply went through the roof.

White gold is not something that is being found naturally like yellow gold. You actually need to mix the gold with a specific alloy.
The most common metal mixture added to gold to produce white gold are nickel, palladium and silver.