Help me with WG vs Plat. CADs are finished!

[diamondseeker2006]

This one didn't attach the first time for some reason but it does show the tiny scratches to the sides when rings rub together.

 

[hoofbeats95]

I would like to thank everyone for their posts!

I think I was wrong about what maintenance would be required to keep the warranty. I'm still fuzzy on that. It seems because I have sidestone that either plating or polishing would need to be done at BGD. Though I'm still unclear. And really if I have insurance on the ring does that matter? If a stone falls out (center or sidestone) who covers that? I went to Jared today to feel a 6mm plat band and a 6mm white gold band. I like the heavier weight of plat. WOWZA! Jared charges a ton more for plat.

Diamondseeker - did Leon make your ring? Thanks a TON for posting the pics. See - unless I'm blind, I don't mind what I see in those pictures. I'm totally 100% ok with that. So you all think in that case I'd be fine?

I don't think I'm hard on my rings. I wear them to work. I do software development - so I type all day. I don't wear to the gym. I wear when I go out. I never ever wear around the house. So is that hard? I'll tell you my opinon - I think the WG setting I had was CRAP! I have a ton of rings and none of them looked as bad as that one did.

My fiance and I ran a ton of errands today, which is why I've been away from this thread. However, at lunch I discussed the decision. Told him all I knew about the metals. He thinks I should go plat. Maybe cause his mom has plat?! Ha ha. But I think mostly because he likes the properties of the metal better.

I don't think I'd like WG and Palladium. I have a P4 ring from Rogers and Hollands. I can't remember all the metals in that combo, but Palladium is in there. I don't LOVE it. I also just bought a cheapy P4 wedding band to wear when I don't want to wear my diamonds. Unfortunately I can't wear the band till after I'm married, but I just don't think I love that combo. Maybe WG/Palladium would be different. But if I'm going to venture out from the familiar, I'll go with Plat. So I have just over 12 hours to decide! Thanks for all your help. I appreciate it.

 

[diamondseeker2006]

Yes, it is Leon's classic solitaire made standard. I didn't request it to be extra thin or anything. These are actually my first platinum rings. I always hated my mother's gray platinum rings, and it was not until I learned about platinum here that I was willing to try it. I am sure my mother has never had hers polished for one thing! And I have no idea of her alloy. But there is something special about the weight of platinum.

I estimate that I may have mine polished every 3 years or so to keep it looking really good. I just don't see that as being that big of a deal. And I wear mine much as you have described.

 

[hoofbeats95]

Yes, it is Leon's classic solitaire made standard. I didn't request it to be extra thin or anything. These are actually my first platinum rings. I always hated my mother's gray platinum rings, and it was not until I learned about platinum here that I was willing to try it. I am sure my mother has never had hers polished for one thing! And I have no idea of her alloy. But there is something special about the weight of platinum.

I estimate that I may have mine polished every 3 years or so to keep it looking really good. I just don't see that as being that big of a deal. And I wear mine much as you have described.

So you think it's the Ru alloy that makes your plat better than your mom's? And you think if I go with the BGD plat then I'll be happy?! Boy I don't want to mess this up.

I went to my FMIL's and asked to see her rings. I don't think they are Plat!! She says they are. It's a reset I believe cause she wore her other setting too much and it got too thin. She said the only setting that he could set her stones in (they are quite large) was a plat setting. However, they are stamped 14K P. What does that mean?!?! They look a bit yellow just like my WG does. Her stones are so large that the ring is heavy, so I can't judge based on that. I questioned the marking (not good!) and she said yes "14K Platinum". What do you guys think!?!?! I'm bummed.

 

[MissGotRocks]

DS your rings look great - thanks for the pictures and explaining the platinum/alloy. I don't have platinum rings and never really knew that stuff so thanks!

Are you still considering a six prong Tiffany setting? I really like your Leon setting!

 

[diamondseeker2006]

Yes, it is Leon's classic solitaire made standard. I didn't request it to be extra thin or anything. These are actually my first platinum rings. I always hated my mother's gray platinum rings, and it was not until I learned about platinum here that I was willing to try it. I am sure my mother has never had hers polished for one thing! And I have no idea of her alloy. But there is something special about the weight of platinum.

I estimate that I may have mine polished every 3 years or so to keep it looking really good. I just don't see that as being that big of a deal. And I wear mine much as you have described.

So you think it's the Ru alloy that makes your plat better than your mom's? And you think if I go with the BGD plat then I'll be happy?! Boy I don't want to mess this up.

I went to my FMIL's and asked to see her rings. I don't think they are Plat!! She says they are. It's a reset I believe cause she wore her other setting too much and it got too thin. She said the only setting that he could set her stones in (they are quite large) was a plat setting. However, they are stamped 14K P. What does that mean?!?! They look a bit yellow just like my WG does. Her stones are so large that the ring is heavy, so I can't judge based on that. I questioned the marking (not good!) and she said yes "14K Platinum". What do you guys think!?!?! I'm bummed.

Yes, I absolutely think the hardness of the ruthenium alloy makes mine more scratch resistant than my mother's. I am just not sure she took as good care of her rings as I take of mine. I don't think she ever had them polished! So it is hard to say. My original e-ring was gold and a plain tiffany setting, and it did wear thin over that amount of time. That is why I wanted to try platinum.

Whoa! That is super funny about the 14k inside your MIL's ring! I wonder if the ring is 14k gold with platinum prongs? That was pretty commonly done for white or yellow gold rings in the past. A platinum ring is not going to look yellow, so I suspect you are right! That just goes to show how obsessive we are here because most people know so little about their diamonds or metals!

 

[diamondseeker2006]

DS your rings look great - thanks for the pictures and explaining the platinum/alloy. I don't have platinum rings and never really knew that stuff so thanks!

Are you still considering a six prong Tiffany setting? I really like your Leon setting!

Thanks, MGR! I am not trying to push platinum because I think gold is a wonderful metal, too!

I have been torn about the Tiffany kinfe edge setting because I think it would be good with the Legacy band. But I am not planning to change it unless I upgrade my stone (and by upgrade I mean color, not size!). I'd also like a Van Craeynest ring. Would love a three stone like yours, too! Just need 3 or 4 wedding sets! But the Leon looks good with my band, so it would be silly to change it.

 

[hoofbeats95]

I specifically asked if the whole thing was plat or just the head/prongs. She insisted the whole thing. I couldn't say anything ya know?! So I have no idea what to do. It's not plat. I know no one else that would have plat. So I have to make this decision with the help of PS.

So here we go:

PLATINUM:
I like the concept that plat is displaced rather than lost during scratching/polishing
I like that plat is WHITE
I like the weight of plat

I don't know Plat and I don't know the patina.
I can live with the price.

WG:
I like the shine of freshly plated WG

I hate the yellow of worn WG and I wear the plating off quickly ( body chemistry? )

I know WG and know what to expect.
The price is flattering.

So what does this mean!?!? I'm scared to death of hating platinum, but is that enough to bail?

 

[yssie]

You must be very easy on your rings ds - my 1.6mm plain 950/ru band is a fully-matte-patina'd warped wreck after - 11 months now.

I wear it do do all sorts of chores - dishes, cleaning, etc, so I'm not altogether surprised, but four years seems a *very* long time to keep your platinum so shiny!


hoofbeats - if you know your body chemistry wears plating off quickly your only real wg options become specialty alloys that don't need plating, but which will lessen the price margin btwn the wg and plat quite a bit I think..

 

[PinkTower]

My vote is for the platinum; it would have saved me money in the long run had I chosen it from the beginning. I had been married for some time, and developed a medical condition that requires autoimmune medication. I suspect it caused me to become allergic to my gold wedding set. I had to have it remade in platinum for that reason two years ago. I honestly cannot recall what the alloy in my platinum is, but I researched it from an allergy standpoint before I decided what to use. Just because you are not allergic to gold now does not mean you will not become allergic to it later.

 

[hoofbeats95]

Yssie - you scare me! I don't want to feel like you do about platinum!!! Ahh.

I'm 90% sure I'm going Plat. I might need some hand-holding! I'm nervous.

 

[diamondseeker2006]

Yssie, I take mine off before doing dishes or cleaning, so that may be the difference. The main reason I am so careful is that I don't want to hurt the Legacy eternity ring! I love milgrain and don't want it smashed! So when I get ready to do work around the house, I take the rings off.

 

[yssie]

Yssie - you scare me! I don't want to feel like you do about platinum!!! Ahh.

I'm 90% sure I'm going Plat. I might need some hand-holding! I'm nervous.

haha well like your BGD rep said, I'm not the norm on that one
now, stop agonizing, just pick one and run with it before you give yourself a stomachache! You've done your homework and there's very little more that you could learn by doing more homework, so at this point all you can really do is trust yourself to make the decision you'll be happiest with. I vote plat., I think you'll be happier with it in the long-run, and I think it's going to be stunning!


(And if you do find out that you've picked wrong, well, there are plenty of anniversaries to fix it. Nothing has to be forever. If that makes you feel better.)


ds - it's bizarre how little I care to be careful with it, I baby every other piece of jewellery I own to the extreme! Your set really is lovely though - and obviously, has held up very well with your TLC! hoofbeats - don't do dishes and house-cleaning in your rings

 

[OCmom3xboys]

I only read a few of the responses you got. My e-ring and w-band are both platinum, 3 sided pave. 6 years ago, it was $1500 more for platinum for each ring but nowadays there is not that much difference in pricing.

Platinum: shinny but it can turn grayish, rings are much heavier, migrain is starting to wear off after 6 years (from rubbing against the stones)

White gold: brighter shine, lighter

For 5 years straight, I rarely took my rings off but I learned to take them off every night now and I have them in a safe place where I can remember to wear them every morning.

 

[hoofbeats95]

I only read a few of the responses you got. My e-ring and w-band are both platinum, 3 sided pave. 6 years ago, it was $1500 more for platinum for each ring but nowadays there is not that much difference in pricing.

Platinum: shinny but it can turn grayish, rings are much heavier, migrain is starting to wear off after 6 years (from rubbing against the stones)

White gold: brighter shine, lighter

For 5 years straight, I rarely took my rings off but I learned to take them off every night now and I have them in a safe place where I can remember to wear them every morning.

Sounds as though you prefer WG? I need to add up the numbers. I have to pay about $400 more per ring for plat. If I can swing it I think I'm going to do it. . . . maybe. I have about an hour left to decide!

 

[hoofbeats95]

I chose Platinum! I hope it was the right choice.

I might need some PSer's to hold my hand during this process.

This custom process is expensive and terrifying! It's costing a fortune. I sometimes wonder how much is materials and how much is labor and how much is the custom fee. Wow. I know the quality of the stones will ROCK, but this is a lot of cash.

 

[stone-cold11]

Good luck.

Material is relatively easy to calculate, just ask for the volume of your ring, calculate how much Pt is required and check the spot price on Pt today.

 

[hoofbeats95]

yeah but material includes stones too. I guess in the end it doesn't matter, but I've often wondered if the first person to get the ring (by going custom) pays more the the subsequent people that order it as a stock setting. I tried and tried to get a stock setting, but none were just what I wanted.

 

[totheleft]

Hi Hoofbeats! This is a billion years later, but I've been browsing the "search" function and found all of your posts. Did you end up liking your Platinum choice? I have a platinum ring that's 6 years old now and I know it's sort of scratched but the patina has never even occured to me to bother me. My ring looks similar to yours:

 

[hoofbeats95]

I LOVE platinum! I made the right choice hands down. No yellow at all. The bottom sides of my rings are a bit beat up, but they would be with WG too. Any important ring in the future will totally be platinum.