Criteria for choosing metal setting

[Shondra]

What questions should I be asking myself when it comes to choosing whether to use gold, silver or platinum for my earrings and bracelets? I've never really thought about this before, but I would definitely love to learn more before I make my purchase.

 

[Winks_Elf]

The first thing I would take into consideration is if you have any allergies. White gold contains nickel, which some people are sensitive to. Rose gold has a lot of copper in it. How hard on your jewelry are you? I know I am hard on mine, which is why I chose platinum. I'm also in the hot tub a lot (bromine) and don't like to take off my rings, so platinum for me is a no-brainer. The nickel in white gold reacts poorly with both chlorine and bromine, and becomes brittle, which can lead to broken prongs. Cost is also a factor. What does your budget allow for? Those are all things you're going to want to take into consideration when choosing a setting.

 

[Bron357]

Hi, apart from an allergies you might have, your preferred colour and budget are important. Silver is the cheapest metal however most jewellers won't work with it ie getting a ring resized. Also most jewellery made in silver contain lower quality / price gems. Silver also tarnishes quite readily ie goes a dull grey colour. Easy to fix with a jewellery polishing cloth. Some people find silver leaves a black mark on their skin from prolonged wear. Then gold, apart from white, Rose and yellow colours, there is the carat ie amount of actual gold in the metal. Lower number ie 10kt means lower amount of gold. 24kt is pure gold but you will rarely find that in jewellery as it is so soft. Normally rings are 14kt or 18kt. You may more as the gold quantity increases! Also white gold pieces are usually rhodium plated to give them a very silvery and shiny finish. This does wear off over time so you might need to have a ring "re plated".Then most expensive are Pallidum and Platinum. Both white metals and very dense and long wearing metals. Then apart from actual metal pieces you have gold plated, gold lined or gold filled, this is a gold overlay over a base metal sometimes silver but often brass or similiar. Silver coloured metals ie costume jewellery that are silver or gold are usually nickel plated. This is the big allergy metal, nickel, and to be avoided if you have a skin sensitivity.

 

[Shondra]

Thank you both for the very helpful replies. I think after reading your posts and doing a little bit more research, I've decided to go with the Platinum setting. I am very hard on my jewelry and I think that would be my best bet. Thanks again.