Pluses and minuses of using white gold with platinum...

[hoorray]

I''m thinking about having the head on my e-ring replaced. The current one is too high and has way too much metal from the side view. (It''s just a stock head, and I''ve looked through the catalogs and havn''t found anything significantly better. ) The band on the shank is fairly wide (approx 4mm). I tried to attach a picture, but it didn''t seem to be working.

A local jeweler is suggesting that he have his benchman hand make a 4 prong head. I''ve seen samples, and it would be a much more open, lighter look. It would also make the stone much easier to clean. What surprises me is that he is suggesting making it is white gold, even though the ring shank is platinum. He says the nickel alloy makes the white gold much stronger than platinum, and the rhodium plating will mask any color differences. I assume I would have to re-plate it occasionally to keep them looking good.

I really don''t like the yellow tinge of many white gold pieces I''ve seen. However I have a ring that I bought in Europe that never yellows. I assume it doesn''t have nickel in it, but I don''t know what the mix is.

Does it make sense to use white gold for the head in this case? I''ve always assume I should stick with platinum. If I do go with white gold, is there a good option that minimizes the yellow? I''m not allergic to nickel, so that isn''t a problem.

 

[codex57]

I hear platinum on here, but I talked to jewelers who actually said white gold may be preferrable b/c it''s not as malleable so once it''s set, it''s gonna stay that way. More brittle yes, but they say if you''re careful, it won''t be a problem.

Personally, if I had a platinum setting, I wouldn''t want to mix it with another metal.

 

[MichelleCarmen]

Platinum seems plenty strong and it makes more sense (to me) to have the entire ring made from platinum! Honestly (and hopefully I don''t offend anyone) but I think it''d be kind of weird to have a WG head mounted onto a plat. ring.

 

[hoorray]

Date: 1/3/2005 1:47:54 PM
Author: MichelleCarmen
Platinum seems plenty strong and it makes more sense (to me) to have the entire ring made from platinum! Honestly (and hopefully I don''t offend anyone) but I think it''d be kind of weird to have a WG head mounted onto a plat. ring.

That was my reaction, but the jeweler seems to think it is a non-issue. He is a high end independant B&M jeweler, with a store full of spectacular pieces, so I want to believe him but it seemed odd. Maybe his benchman is not a platinumsmith.

 

[Garry H (Cut Nut)]

It is true that platinum is easier to bend.

We often make the band in WG and the head in platinum, but our settings tend to be low so tenslie strength is not an issue.

Platinum does not wear out - so that, and its better color are its main advantages.

 

[Patty]

Is your platinum rhodium plated? If not, I''d go with a platinum head. Otherwise, how will they rhodium plate the white gold head without doing the ring? I don''t know how easy that is to do. I had a new platinum head put on my yellow gold ring because I didn''t want to ever have to worry about it yellowing.

 

[hoorray]

Thanks for the inputs.

My current ring is not rhodium plated, but I think he is suggesting to plate the whole ring so that the metals match. The stone is a round, approx 8.8mm diameter on a 4mm plain solitaire band.

I guess I''ll talk to him again about his reasoning. I got the impression that that is simply what they prefer to do. He mentioned using white gold wire, to make it, I think.

 

[Julian]

I''d suggest platinum for the head and the shank.

My friend has a white gold head and platinum shank and she cleans her ring so much the head is now yellow-ish. It''s contrasted even further next to the platinum in the ring. But if you don''t think you''ll be a clean freak like the rest of us, I have heard jewelers say the 18k white gold can be a strong alternative.

 

[MichelleCarmen]

Date: 1/3/2005 2:28:31 PM
Author: crankydave

Date: 1/3/2005 2:18:14 PM
Author: Patty
Is your platinum rhodium plated? If not, I''d go with a platinum head. Otherwise, how will they rhodium plate the white gold head without doing the ring? I don''t know how easy that is to do. I had a new platinum head put on my yellow gold ring because I didn''t want to ever have to worry about it yellowing.

It is possible to plate only the head. One such way would be to only submerge the top of the ring into the solution and then polish off any excess that would be on the band.

Dave

Would you want to be polishing the band more than necessary? Seems like this would wear it down especially if Lop frequently cleans her prongs and needs them replated a few times a year.

Honestly, it seems like this jeweler prefers WG, but WG would be more of a PITA for Lop as even fussing with rhodium plating (or even concerning herself with this possibilty) will last a lifetime versus the convience of having a completely platinum ring that she doesn''t have to worry about.

 

[oldminer]

We do appraisal work on a line for a major jewelry chain that uses platinum heads on white gold shanks. It is my experience that platinum does hold the stone better than white gold and that platinum will outlast white gold (in general). Certainly a heavy white gold item will wear longer and better than an overly thin platinum piece, but all things being equal, platinum is generally superior in durability and we all know the up-front costs of platinum are much higher than gold. This is a trade-off situation to some folks. More durability, more cost, versus reduced durability, less cost. Both metals work very well for jewelry when they are used properly.

The metal color of white gold does not match platinum. Making the head of a ring in white gold, and the shank in platinum, one must be ready to rhodium the head frequently to keep the matching coloration. Personally, I would not mix metals in this way. The most wear evident place will be the head, not the shank.

Maybe the jeweler does have a good reason to suggest the white gold setting. I suggest you hear him out and report back to us. I'd be curious to know the line of reasoning, but I never rule out something without listening first. (My kids always liked that approach)--I'm sounding like Andy Rooney, now.

Let us know why??

 

[hoorray]

I will get more details on his reasoning and report back later this week.

Thanks for all your help.

 

[PhillipSchmidt]

I think he is offering w/g because of the cost of custom making a setting for him/ therefore you, in platinum. If he is hand making it in platinum he will have to roll out some stock to the dimensions needed and perhaps he fears he will not use metal of that dimention in the near future, so it is a waste. He will have up to 4 pieces of metal that he can''t recoup all of his his money on.

In w/g he will have stock at the right shape and any waste, scrape left over he can ideally melt down and use again.

I imagine he believes your budget won''t account for platinum.

The strength issue is real, but not essentially true, as there are ways of hardening platinum over w/g. However if he doesn''t make a lot of jewellery in platinum you would probably get a better job in his native metal.

Perhaps, he''d like to make a model of the setting and have it cast? It would be easier to harden a cast form for him, I suspect.

I agree with each reason above reagaing the issues. I also think it would be harder to keep both metals well polished. It would take a competent polisher to bring a platinum band to a fine polish and not wear away the head. As years go by, this will definately be an issue.

Phillip

 

[hoorray]

Thanks Phillip! I think what you''ve listed makes a lot of sense and could very well be the case. I''ll talk to him later this week when I go back and see if he has any other reasons. Unless he does, I''ll probably pass on the white gold head, which means that if he doesn''t want to do it in platinum, I''m back to square 1!

 

[perry]

I hate to see jewelers recommending nickle based white gold. yes it''s cheap (nickle based white gold is the cheapest white gold alloy). However, several % of the population has nickle allergies and constant exposure to nickle can also help you develop such allergies (the reason nickle based white gold has been banned in Europe).

I realize that this is nominally only for the head.

Another concern. While it is true that platinum bends easier and the diamond might loosen (and need retightning) - it is as true that white gold is more brittle and may break off. Break a prong on a 4 prong setting and loose your diamond.

There is a local jewelry store here that also recommends white gold heads over platinum. I have been in the store 5 times. 2 of those times there was a person in there who had just lost their diamond because a prong broke off. The store then gets to sell another diamond and repair the setting (and this store does not offer replacement warranties).

I have not been in any other stores where there were active people discussing a lost diamond at all. I cannot but wonder why the store who recommends white gold (and argues against platinum) seems to have this issue. None of the other stores I have been in argues against platinum for the head. Coincidence, maybe; but maybe not.

Perry

 

[hoorray]

I went back to my jeweler, and don''t have big results to tell. His recommendation for white gold was because it is stronger. He didn''t resist this time when I asked if it could be done in platinum, so that''s what I did. I don''t know why he resisted more last time -- might have just been his mood.

I''ve attached pics of the before (on the left) and the after (on the right). I''m not good at getting them sharp -- sorry. I didn''t have a great before pic of the head (probably because I never liked it), but you can see that it was a standard, 6 prong crown with lots of metal. The shift from 6 to 4 prongs is almost not noticable, which surprised me. The new setting is 8mm high, the old was 10mm. Now it looks kind of short and squat, but it may just be that I''m not used to the change. Eventually, I may put this in a different setting altogether, but for now I am much happier with the lighter look from the side.

 

[Patty]

lop, I pulled up this thread b/c you mentioned that you had changed the head on your ring and you were still not sure about it. So I went looking for pictures of it! Is the 4 prong head a basket setting? Do you have any more pictures of it? From what I can see here, it looks pretty!

 

[ame]

Im not a mixer either, there willbe a color difference even if it's a very slight one.

I prefer platinum to any kind of gold and I have had mixed reviews about both from several different jewlers but most like Platinum for durability.

ETA: I just sawthe dates and quite honestly, I liked it before (ducks!)

 

[Garry H (Cut Nut)]

Platinum for reduced wear, white gold for toughness / not bending.

 

[hoorray]

Hi Patty -- here is a picture of the old 6 prong head and the new 4 prong. Both are platinum. I love the look of the new 4 prong. It is so much lighter and shows more of the stone. I hope it is protective enough -- there is so much less there compared to the old. From the top it disappears. I guess it is a basket -- it was hand made from platinum wire (if that is what you call it.)

The only thing I wish was different is that it is a little low and squat looking. The other was too high, so in-between probably would have been perfect. The old was 10mm. The new is 8mm high. So next time, I''ll go 9mm

. DH thinks the stone looks smaller with the lower head -- he liked it higher better.

I may just to a whole new setting in a few years, so I''ll live with this one for now.

 

[Patty]

Thanks, lop. I love the new head...it''s beautiful and it really shows off the side view of the stone. I have a basket head for my diamond in my 3 stone ring and it''s a very nice look...understated but beautiful, IMO. Even though the diamond in my 3 stone ring is larger (1.35) than the diamond in my wedding ring (.95), the 3 stone ring with the basket setting sits much lower than the head of my wedding ring. One is more tailored and classic looking and the other is more showy looking.

 

[hoorray]

Ame -- you and DH agree. He liked it better also. I didn''t like the side view, and it spun all the time on me so thatthe stone was always sitting next to my little finger. The new one doesn''t spin nearly as much, but I did like it a little higher better.