A nickel-free white gold alloy composition having selectively reversible hardness characteristics between its annealed- and aged-hardness values, consists essentially of: about 55 60% gold; about 6.0 10.0% palladium; about 5.0 12.0% copper; about 0.1 2.0% zinc; and about 20 30% silver. A 14-karat nickel-free white gold alloy composition, consists essentially of: about 58.5% gold; about 25.0 27.15% silver; about 6.0% palladium; about 5.0 12.0% copper; about 0 2.0% zinc; about 0 0.2% cobalt; about 0 0.005% iridium; and about 0 0.01% lithium.