platinum or white gold, for engagement ring setting.
- Thread starter Maximus96
- Start date
I chose white gold. The setting I liked actually wasn't even available in platinum. And I'm sure my fiancee appreciates the larger diamond over the white gold that she would not be able to differentiate from platinum anyway 
White gold does yellow over time as the coating wears off and you will need to get it refinished periodically.
White gold does yellow over time as the coating wears off and you will need to get it refinished periodically.
You might not be able to see a difference but you can bet a woman will have it checked out and will know the difference. Of course, my feelings are that any woman that shallow isn't worth marrying. Get the one you think she will like better.
Get the one you think she will like better.Every couple years. Or never if you don't really care
I don't know how much it is, although many jewellers will offer to do it free for the life of the ring.Platinum does not have to be refinished as that is the natural color of the alloy.
White gold is a whitish alloy (but still somewhat yellow) that is coated to make it completely white in appearance.
alkemyst
No Lifer
- Feb 13, 2001
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Summary of Platinum?s properties
natural white color (will stay white)
looks better than white gold when it is old and scratched (white gold is white due to a rhodium coating)
heavier than gold
will wear better and last longer than gold
is very expensive, also a 95% pure alloy.
Summary of white gold?s properties
stronger than platinum (good for a ring to be)
more rigid than platinum (again important)
half the price of platinum
Most white gold rings will have a platinum crown...they are less apt to bend, but more apt to break off.
Platinum is harder to work as well....there is a debate about what makes the better crown.
White for a ring is a choice mostly to not color the diamond with yellow.
natural white color (will stay white)
looks better than white gold when it is old and scratched (white gold is white due to a rhodium coating)
heavier than gold
will wear better and last longer than gold
is very expensive, also a 95% pure alloy.
Summary of white gold?s properties
stronger than platinum (good for a ring to be)
more rigid than platinum (again important)
half the price of platinum
Most white gold rings will have a platinum crown...they are less apt to bend, but more apt to break off.
Platinum is harder to work as well....there is a debate about what makes the better crown.
White for a ring is a choice mostly to not color the diamond with yellow.
you could have just
LINKED!">http://www.ultimatewedding.com/articles/get.php?action=getarticle&articleid=199[/S</a>
alkemyst
No Lifer
- Feb 13, 2001
- 83,769
- 19
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You link sucks, but I also explained it.
I have bought two engagement rings and have been around Diamondtalk a long time and met locally with RockDoc from there. I copied and pasted for time. That site is not so good, just the first platinum vs white gold google hit.
Can't add too much to Alkemyst's post other than the fact that not all white gold is rhodium coated, in fact in Europe selling coated white gold or white gold made with a high nickle content is no longer allowed due to the few reactions some had to nickle...now a good deal of white gold overseas is made with Palladium I believe....also some white gold is just heavily saturated with nickle and not plated at all, only problem with this is it isn't highly white and you are more likely to show an allergic reaction to nickle, that is if you are allergic to it in the first place.
Also Alkemyst is incorrect in saying that white gold is *stronger* than platinum, white gold is more resistant to minor surface scratching than platinum due to its higher rigidity(sp?) and in some cases its rhodium coating, but platinum is definately a stronger more lasting metal (which alke pointed out under plats properties), chances are at one point in a lifetime a gold ring with heavy wear will have to have a shank repair done whereas plat should last well beyond a normal persons life. As for settings, generally platinum is preferred, in fact I have yet to meet a jeweler that does not do all of their setting work in plat.
As for which to get it is really a matter of taste and budget...if you don't like a heavy ring then don't get plat, if you like a heavy ring and want something that will last forever and don't mind spending nearly three times as much then get platinum....personally my college ring is 14K white gold and my wedding band is platinum, I like them both but the white gold ring is alot more comfortable due to the weight savings.
good luck.
Originally posted by: Eli
Go Sterling Silver.
sterling will tarnish and is too soft for most rings.
Also if your planning on doing any work with chemicals the platinum is the gold standard, no pun intended, when it comes to inert metals. For example mercury will react with your gold ring, but your platinum ring would be fine.
actually, what many don't know is that platinum used to be all the rage in the 20s and 30s....(not sure on those dates) but come wwII I believe it was deemed a strategic metal and retail sales were no longer allowed, only as of recently has it come back into the marketplace.
MidasKnight
Diamond Member
- Apr 24, 2004
- 3,288
- 0
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My wife and I went with White Gold. We were able to get allot more diamond for the ring that way for our price range. With the Plat we would have settled with only half carrot but with the white we were able to go 1 an 3/4 carrot diamond for the set.
alkemyst
No Lifer
- Feb 13, 2001
- 83,769
- 19
- 81
it's carat....
Also going for size should not be a criteria but is usually.
The '4C's leave out some of the most important parts of the diamond, namely those that deal with it's fire and brilliance.....each 'cut' has it's own range of measurements that denote ideal to industrial grade.
You can have a 1 carat / D color (perfect) / FL round that's simply cut bad due to it being not really an FL stone but made to be one by creative cutting and it will look crappy compared to a perfectly cut 5/8 carat / G / SI2 which would be more than likely lower priced due to 1 carat carrying a premium.
One of the best ways to save on a diamond too is to avoid the whole numbered sizes (.25, .50, .75, 1.00 etc).
Also going for size should not be a criteria but is usually.
The '4C's leave out some of the most important parts of the diamond, namely those that deal with it's fire and brilliance.....each 'cut' has it's own range of measurements that denote ideal to industrial grade.
You can have a 1 carat / D color (perfect) / FL round that's simply cut bad due to it being not really an FL stone but made to be one by creative cutting and it will look crappy compared to a perfectly cut 5/8 carat / G / SI2 which would be more than likely lower priced due to 1 carat carrying a premium.
One of the best ways to save on a diamond too is to avoid the whole numbered sizes (.25, .50, .75, 1.00 etc).
alkemyst
No Lifer
- Feb 13, 2001
- 83,769
- 19
- 81
Well what i meant to say above was white gold looks like platinum due to a rhodium coating...that's the purpose of it. But white gold is white due to nickel mostly.
One average a platinum ring will outlast gold by 3 lifes. However, gold is very scratch prone compared to platinum which has a very high abrasion resistance (scratches). In regards to strength, it depends on what you are defining it as.
Platinum has a higher tensile strength. Good for prongs and the like, but it's a dead metal and not very 'stiff'. Gold is almost always 'springy' which can give it some resistance to breakage.
With platinum you bend it to the stone and it stays, with gold you have to go a little beyond as it will spring back (albeit extremely little), setting a stone is a dangerous part of jewelry....this is where a million dollar diamond can be chipped.
It's all on economies of scale. Most of a platinum jewerly piece's price is from the extra costs in working with it, not the extra value of the small amount of plat. If you are dealing in diamonds around the 1/2 carat mark or low quality/cheaper stones than the setting is significant. If you are dealing with high quality diamonds or larger ones then the setting becomes less than the tax you will pay pretty quickly.
I love white gold personally... Besides, if you ever get leprosy and bonk your head and get sucked into "The Land" you'll need that white gold to defeat Lord Foul.
/me wonders how many people will get the reference. Clue: Thomas Covenant
/me wonders how many people will get the reference. Clue: Thomas Covenant
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