With gold prices rising, wold you consider...

[Porridge]

Yes, I would totally consider silver for my ering. It's my favourite white metal, I love how it looks.

 

[davi_el_mejor]

Would I ever!



The stones are in 14k (kite) and 18k (radiant) but the rest of the ring is silver. The silver is in a satin/matte finish. Trying to keep it undinged was an exercise in futility. I'm lucky enough to have the kinda skin that silver loves. After like 6 months absolutely no blackening. The radiant has more silver to it as the whole shank is sterling. DBL made it for me, so there's not doubt as to the quality, so that probably plays a part in it. A few more shots of my ring... cuz I love it

 

[jstarfireb]

I wouldn't reset mine, but I would set a diamond in silver, especially argentium. I have already set most of my gemstones in silver in the past few years, or two-tone with a silver shank and gold head when I want the stone surrounded by rose or yellow gold.

 

[Imdanny]

I not looking to set anything but my three favorite precious metals are gold, gold, and gold.

 

[QueenB29]

I have a couple $1500ish rings set in fine Mexican silver and I love them. I've found that truly fine silver rarely needs more cleaning than an occasional swipe with a polishing cloth to stay tarnish-free. The only problem is that silver is soft so this can happen fairly easily/quickly:





This ring is actually far more off-round than these pictures show too (And I sit at a desk all day and take off my rings the second I get home -- I don't wear them when at the gym, cleaning, cooking, etc )

 

[Imdanny]

I love silver. I've set everything from 20 carat tourmalines to rubies and opals in silver. It's a noble metal (not, like, table of elements-wise, but you know what I mean), with a long and proud history. If it was good enough for everybody from the Romans to the Victorians, it's good enough for me!

This is an interesting subject. My impression is that the precious metals are gold, platinum, palladium, and silver. Is this correct? Did I leave any off my list or include one that shouldn't be on it (i.e. am I correct in assuming palladium is a precious metal?).

You know a lot about history. Maybe you know the answer to this. I read that a king of France said platinum was the only metal fit for a king. I wonder, though, if there is any historical proof that this quote attributed to the king is something he actually said?

The seemingly strong preference today for white metals, especially platinum, over yellow gold intrigues me.

I believe that white gold was invented as a substitute for platinum during WWII because platinum was needed in the war effort. Is white gold simply yellow gold with nickel? (and often plated with rhodium; wait a minute- is rhodium a precious metal?). I know that Cartier and VC&A make tons of jewelry and high jewelry in 18 kt white gold, and I read on Cartier's website that it can be re-plated a certain number of times. I'm assuming that this means Cartier's white gold is plated. This seems strange to me because plating usually has a negative connotation (I think, but maybe this is not always true), for example silver plated flatware is not well thought of (but plating for white gold is considered to be on par with 18 kt yellow gold).

I understand why platinum is considered to be more valuable than gold (it's rarer) but what I don't understand is why yellow gold has, I don't know how to say this, not a stigma, but something of a reputation (often times) of being passé. This baffles me because people have used yellow gold to make jewelry for millennia. In the scheme of things, gold will never go out of style.

I wonder if you're saying that some people think of silver as a second rate precious metal or if some people don't think of it as one. I think either would be just as inane as believing the same thing about gold.

 

[pregcurious]

No, if the piece is an ering, wedding band, or in general a stone of great importance to me. Argentium silver tarnishes.

Yes, if the piece is for occasional wear OR if the stones are <$500. I am having necklace made in Argentium silver now with moonstone and melee diamonds.

I think the idea of yellow gold being passe is a result of marketing from the Platinum Guild to restore platinum to it's pre-war glory. How platinum became popular before the war, I don't know.

 

[partgypsy]

Before coming to pricescope pretty much all my jewelry is in sterling, so I obviously like how it looks on my skin. But yeah something about setting a diamond in silver seems blaphemous, but I could do the gold setting/head with a silver body.

I ordered a Daniel M piece in argetinium silver. Sadly I prefer how regular silver looks more; the argetinium looks too "white" to me.

 

[Sky56]

I love silver and wear it often, but I prefer gold and platinum for diamonds.
Some of my favorite silver pieces contain turquoise and coral.

 

[Lady_Disdain]

Before coming to pricescope pretty much all my jewelry is in sterling, so I obviously like how it looks on my skin. But yeah something about setting a diamond in silver seems blaphemous, but I could do the gold setting/head with a silver body.

I ordered a Daniel M piece in argetinium silver. Sadly I prefer how regular silver looks more; the argetinium looks too "white" to me.

I agree - I like the look of regular copper/silver sterling much better than argentium. It is also important to note that argentium is tarnish resistant, not tarnish free. It does tarnish and gets an awful colour if it gets into frequent contact with chlorine or salt water.

The working properties of argentium are interesting though. They aren't different enough to be a problem (most people I know just jumped into it without any trouble) but it is great for fusing and granulation work.

 

[ksinger]

Before coming to pricescope pretty much all my jewelry is in sterling, so I obviously like how it looks on my skin. But yeah something about setting a diamond in silver seems blaphemous, but I could do the gold setting/head with a silver body.

I ordered a Daniel M piece in argetinium silver. Sadly I prefer how regular silver looks more; the argetinium looks too "white" to me.

I agree - I like the look of regular copper/silver sterling much better than argentium. It is also important to note that argentium is tarnish resistant, not tarnish free. It does tarnish and gets an awful colour if it gets into frequent contact with chlorine or salt water.

The working properties of argentium are interesting though. They aren't different enough to be a problem (most people I know just jumped into it without any trouble) but it is great for fusing and granulation work.

I've not worked with it, but I've heard that...

But in the MEANTIME (threadjack warning!)...LD...speaking of fusing....

Here is 58 grams of 22K fused yumminess. Getting ready to make that chain....

End threadjack.

 

[jstarfireb]

I don't consider yellow gold to be dated, but I just don't really like the way it looks on me. I very much prefer white metals and rose gold over yellow gold. However, some colored gems just look better with yellow gold prongs or bezel, so that's why I do a lot of two-tone. It still looks like a white metal piece on the whole, but it has the extra boost from gold around the stone.

 

[LtlFirecracker]

Just want to say I have a ring that is a mix of yellow gold and argetinium silver, It looks wonderful and really made the setting affordable. I did my e-ring in platinum, but how you set your jewelry is a personal decision in my opinion.

 

[makemepretty]

CZ's are pretty and are less expensive than diamonds...but CZ's are NOT diamonds and silver is NOT gold or platinum, hence the price difference.

Wear what you like but resale and value of an item depends on what society values. When I see diamond jewelry set in silver, I don't think of quality honestly.

I'm on the poorer end of an income level(not even middle, I'd say) but silver is what you buy when you can't afford anything else. You save to buy a piece of "gold" jewelry and platinum is heirloom quality!

 

[Blue-Seeker]

CZ's are pretty and are less expensive than diamonds...but CZ's are NOT diamonds and silver is NOT gold or platinum, hence the price difference.

Wear what you like but resale and value of an item depends on what society values. When I see diamond jewelry set in silver, I don't think of quality honestly.

I'm on the poorer end of an income level(not even middle, I'd say) but silver is what you buy when you can't afford anything else. You save to buy a piece of "gold" jewelry and platinum is heirloom quality!

I agree with you if you are talking about companies doing low-cost sterling versions of their pricer items, such as Tiffany sterling. I very much disagree with you if you are talking about high-end sterling pieces made by well-known individual artisans, some of whom work in a wide variety of metals, including sterling. There is a healthy market for vintage sterling jewelry as well and it is not at all cheap -- in quality or price.

 

[makemepretty]

In the case you describe you're actually paying for the artists name rather than the metal, like a piece of art, almost. If they did work in gold it would still be worth more than silver. I didn't say silver pieces had to be cheap to be considered less desirable than gold. The amount of silver quality pieces that are passed down have to be infinitesimal compared to other jewelry passed down through generations. There's a reason for that.

The more money you have, the less conventional spending comes into play.