White gold and yellow gold are both of the same precious metal named Aurum. Basically, the only difference between these two is the kind of alloy used. The actual value of each depends on pureness of gold or what we call karat. Karat is the unit of purity of gold. Pure gold is 24 karat. But since a 100% gold metal is too soft to be used to make jewelries, it is usually mixed with other metals like copper, nickel, silver, etc. to make it hard and durable that is suitable for jewelry purposes. Each karat indicates 1/24th of the whole. It is the quantity of metals mixed over the quantity of gold that determines the karat of it. For example, if a piece of jewelry is made of 18 parts gold and 6 parts of copper, then it is specified as 18-karat gold or 18k.
Monetary Value
Gold is mixed with other metal not only for durability but also to create a variety of distinctive color; this is how gold of different hues other than [the natural] yellow are created (White, rose, green). White gold is basically the same [yellow] gold mixed with white metals like silver, palladium, nickel and zinc to give its distinctive white appearance. Yellow gold on the other hand is usually mixed with nickel and copper. However in jewelries, unlike yellow gold, white gold needs to be rhodium plated. Rhodium plating adds more durability and makes it look whiter and brighter. Without rhodium plating, it cannot attain an elegant luster and it will quickly turn yellow and look dull. Normally, rhodium plating on a ring worn on a daily basis will last for at least a couple of years. Therefore, once your white gold ring's rhodium plating starts to wear off, you need to bring it to a jeweler to have it re-plated. Rhodium plating can be reasonably expensive; the price also depends on the size of the jewelry to be re-plated. This is the reason why jewelry store may sometimes charge more on white gold than yellow gold even on the same jewelry piece of the same karat. But if you're selling broken jewelries as scrap gold, the rhodium plating on white gold bears no value anymore.
To wrap things up, white gold may be more expensive than yellow gold in fine jewelries because of extra charges for rhodium plating. The increasing demand for a particular type of gold and design brought by the prevailing fashion trend may also affect the price. Nevertheless, the value of gold itself remains the same for all. However, if you're buying or selling broken jewelries as scraps to be refined, the value depends solely on the karat of gold.
Aesthetic Value
Determining the aesthetic value of white or yellow gold is a personal choice. It may also depend on culture and on the current fashion trend. Yellow gold was inarguably very popular many decades ago. But in recent times, many people prefer white gold over yellow or rose gold. Also the increasing popularity of titanium, platinum, aluminum and silver, the trend in jewelry led many consumers to prefer white colored jewelries over other colors. White gold is an alternative to platinum which, although quite durable is a little bit heavier than the former; it's also quite far expensive than gold. But the fact that the value of gold remains high regardless of the economy, investing in gold rather than other precious metal may have become one of the many reasons why people prefer to buy them.
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