Durable Metal?

[VAgal13]

hey everyone...I was wondering if there is a more durable metal than white gold? I know that white gold is more duarble than platinum, but I was just curious what else was out there?

I have only been engaged since February and already my ring is all scratched up and not just on the bottom. I have a pretty thick setting and it''s shiny, so all the scratches really show up. I was thinking that at some point I may have to add sidestones or pave (Oh darn

) in order to stop getting scratches.

Any thoughts/suggestions on what to do to keep from getting more scratches? (Besides wearing gloves...LOL)


Thanks for your help!

 

[valeria101]

All jewelry metals get scratched. Exotic choices (Ti is a bit better but not much, Tungsten really is scratch resistant) are harder, but not used for traditional e-ring shapes, unless you are the one who starts the trend

This is half joke, but you could get diamond coated rings !

the process is used to treat low friction surfaces for industrial equipment and the finish is very "jewel-worthy" even if applied to base metal.

Oh well... perhaps a jeweler would get rightfully horrified by the techie bent of the idea

 

[con17]

Hey VAgal!

Actually Platinum is more durable than gold. There's also titanium which is marketed as being "scratch resistant"

 

[VAgal13]

Val- diamond coated...wow...can you imagine how excited you''d be telling everyone your ring was diamond coated?! I would tell complete strangers. Okay, maybe I wouldn''t...but I would want to.

I always thought Platinum scratched easier than gold...I could be wrong. I am still very much a novice around here. I didn''t get platinum b/c we were able to afford a bigger diamond if I went w/ white gold. I can''t tell the difference unless a platinum ring is right next to mine. Maybe I will just switch it to platinum at some point.

I also like the idea of adding diamonds to the band.

I wonder if I could get the FH to agree to that. Hmmmm....new air conditioner or more diamonds? Tough choice. LOL

Thanks again for your input!

 

[FireGoddess]

Platinum definitely gets scratched up/banged up easier than gold. DH has a wg ring and if that puppy were platinum, it''d be destroyed by now. All jewelers I spoke to advised that his ring be wg. At first we were going to do platinum since mine are PT, but everyone advised he get wg since he''s rough with his jewelry.

 

[con17]

The scratches on platinum are more easily seen than on white gold because of platinums finish makes it more visible, however, the metal is in fact stronger than gold.

 

[MissAva]

I went to a local jelwer about a week ago and this came up. He to me that a different metal was being added to white gold in Europe to make it stronger the Plat, he also told me it cost more but that it would never ever need to be redipped. I will try and remember what it was....anyone from Europe know what I am thinking of?

 

[Rockchick]

Date: 5/13/2005 5:00:26 PM
Author: Matatora
I went to a local jelwer about a week ago and this came up. He to me that a different metal was being added to white gold in Europe to make it stronger the Plat, he also told me it cost more but that it would never ever need to be redipped. I will try and remember what it was....anyone from Europe know what I am thinking of?

really???

I don''t know about that. I have a WG wedding ring (not married yet but have been wearing it LOL) and it''s pretty scratched too... BAD Rockchick, shoudn''t wear my ring already! haha

 

[valeria101]

Date: 5/13/2005 4:01:08 PM
Author: VAgal13

Val- diamond coated...wow...can you imagine how excited you''d be telling everyone your ring was diamond coated?! I would tell complete strangers. Okay, maybe I wouldn''t...but I would want to.

ROFLMAO !!! Isn''t that what micropave always wanted to be if it was "micro" enough. Think... "microns" !

 

[MissAva]

John Poole at Hudson Poole mentioned it to me. I am going to call him when I get back to t-town I will be sure to ask him what the name of the additive was and post it.

 

[snow_happy]

Gold is tougher than platinum. Can withstand more bending and pressure without breaking all the way through.

Platinum is harder than gold. Takes more to structurally (not cosmetically) damage but once the damage is done the platinum will break.

In other words if you push a gold ring on the corner of a table it will bend easier than platinum. (although I believe it would still take quite a bit of force) If you continued to apply force eventually the platinum would break (fracture) but the gold would just bend (plastic deformation).

Hope this helps.

 

[VAgal13]

I have been thinking about my ring all weekend and think I came up with a solution. I think I am going to switch the current setting ( Lucida style custom job, really thick band) and get a much thinner simple, setting. I think the reason I noctie the scratches so much is because the band is so thick. The scratch ends up being 4mm long, so with a thinner band, the scratch can only be as thick as the band itself. What do you guys think?

Also, if I go for a smaller band, then maybe I can get a thicker wedding band w/ diamonds. Right now my e-ring is too thick to get a substantial wedding band. I have relatively small hands and the thicker bands really over power my short fingers. Do any of you have any plain, solitaire style settings you think would work for a cushion?

 

[jellybean]

If you get a shared prong set diamond band it will scratch up your e-ring whether it''s gold or platinum. I have two shared prong bands -- a 5 stone band and an eternity band. I also have two solitaires, one in white gold and one in platinum. They are both totally scratched up from the diamond bands, although the platinum one got scratched up in less time than the gold one. But since the platinum one is so thin (4 prong tiffany type setting) it doesn''t bother me that much.

 

[Dancing Fire]

Date: 5/17/2005 1:27:43 AM
Author: jellybean
If you get a shared prong set diamond band it will scratch up your e-ring whether it''s gold or platinum. I have two shared prong bands -- a 5 stone band and an eternity band. I also have two solitaires, one in white gold and one in platinum. They are both totally scratched up from the diamond bands, although the platinum one got scratched up in less time than the gold one. But since the platinum one is so thin (4 prong tiffany type setting) it doesn''t bother me that much.

that''s what i''m afraid of when my wife start wearing her 5 stone ring with the solitaire but, all rings get scratch up anyway after so many yrs,with or w/o help from other rings.

 

[Ducky]

Hi Jellybean,
I also have a shared prong wedding band and am very afraid for the stones on it. You mentioned that your e-ring prongs are scratched up from the stones on the wedding ring. That also happened to my e-ring. Now I''m wondering if the sides of the diamonds on my shared prong band are also chipped or damaged on the sides. I can''t tell by just looking at the stones because they are each quite small (.03 ct each x 9). I wish that someone at the store would have warned me about this problem before I purchased the ring. I don''t think I would have bought the shared prong if I had known about the above-mentioned issues. Do you think that I''m worried for nothing?

 

[jellybean]

Hi Ducky!

I''m certainly not an expert but it is unlikely that your diamonds on your shared prong setting are damaged just from rubbing against your e-ring. The diamonds are harder than the metal. Is your e-ring shared prong as well? If it''s diamonds rubbing against diamonds then I would have it checked out to be on the safe side. I want a shared prong setting for my e-ring but I keep debating as I don''t want to damage my eternity band either.

 

[Ducky]

Hi PB & J,
My current e-ring is a 14K six prong tiffany style moissanite ring. The prongs are of this ring are scratched from the shared prong platinum wedding band. The prongs on my e-ring extend outward and that''s why the diamonds from the shared prong band scratched them up.

I am in the process of buying the Tiffany knife edge e-ring from White Flash (around .70 ct). Their ring is just like the basket style head on the real Tiffany round solitaire ring. I think that this basket head doesn''t extend outward as much as my tiffany "style" moissanite ring. It looks as if it might sit flush against a wedding band. Am I correct here? My shared prong ring was purchased from Tiffany''s. In fact, this ring is one that they recommend to go with their round solitaire. So when I bought my band, I didn''t think or know of the scratching possiblity and noboby there said anything about this.

Does anyone out there have the exact Tiffany set (or an exact duplicate of the Tiffany set) mentioned above? If so, can you please let me know if you have experienced any problems to do with scratching or damage done to either or both of the rings? Thanks in advance.

 

[ame]

Frankly I found white gold to be the least durable of all metals. It yellows almost immediately with me.

So Id go either platinum or titanium.

 

[jellybean]

Hi again Ducky!

My 4 prong tiffany type setting is from WF so it''s probably the same one you''re looking at. I have a 0.72ct round in it and it sits totally flush with my eternity band. Not only are the prongs scratched up but the whole ring is. I only planned on this being a temporary setting anyway so I''m not too upset although it bugs me a bit.

 

[mrssalvo]

to avoid potential scratching you can have your band made like Mara''s. there are 4 prongs holding onto each diamond, it not only is more secure but it allows here rings to sit next to each other with out scratching.

 

[Ducky]

Hi PB & J,
I''m sorry about your scratched ring(s)! That''s just what I was afraid of. The Tiffany knife edge setting that I want from Whiteflash is the 6 prong one. So if your 4 prong one is damaged, the same thing will probably get scratched up the same way to the 6 prong. Now I''m not sure what to do. The set would look so nice together... I''m not sure I like the look of having a spacer in the middle. I feel upset that I may not be able to wear my two dream rings together as a set. I really wish that I had know about this before I spent $3000 on my wedding band! Please excuse me for blowing off steam.

 

[valeria101]

Look guys, that silly post above was meant as a joke. I had no idea someone was actually doing it !

presenting ...

HERE


I am by no means kidding this time. And the pieces are not half bad, in a techie kind of way

Seriously, I am not endorsing this product in any way. I have not even seen those things. The idea is stryking enough though, on''t you think ?

 

[MissAva]

Lord they have combined my favorite thing (diamonds) with SOs favorite thing (titanium).....very kool!