I have found my future wedding band, should I buy the 14K white gold or 18K? (please take a look at

[Atariman1]

I have finally decided on this men''s wedding band by Benchmark.

First off do we approve of the design?

For a men''s band (and a man who might ding the ring into the occasional door or desk...lol)

would you go with 14K or 18K white gold and why?


$395 14K White Gold


$685 18K White Gold


Anyone have any experience with diamondsonweb.com ?
If you know of a better spot to purchase this ring please let me know.


As always.....THANKS EVERYONE!

 

[jenniegirlm]

I was told by a jeweler that 18K is better than 14K because the 14K gets brittle over time since it contains more ally. I''m a fan of the plain comfort fit 6 mm bands, but I like your selection.

 

[Adylon]

I''m not a fan of any white gold alloy to be honest with you. I''ve been converted strictly to palladium and platinum when it comes to white metals. If you''re going to get a white gold alloy I suggest 14K because it''s harder, will be more scratch resistant, and it will have less yellow gold in it so in it''s natural state (like when you scratch it all up and all the rhodium is gone) it will look whiter. That way it won''t have to be rhodium plated as often thus saving you money. Some jewelers offer "X1" white gold alloys or palladium-white gold blends, etc... but to me it''s still gold and in my book gold is always yellow so if you''re going for a bright white look and want something that won''t need to be rhodium plated often, the less gold the better

Just my 2c.

 

[ladykemma]

14k, cheaper, harder, won''t care if it gets banged up. it needs to be a workhorse.

 

[Atariman1]

So even if the prices were the same would everyone still go with 14K over 18K?


(They also make the ring in platinum for around $1,700, but have a feeling
I would completely scratch it up)

I would like to wear it for the next 40-50+ years, and would like to keep it
as ding free and shiny as possible.

Does rhodium plating get rid of scratches, or does it only make it white again?


thanks

 

[MustangGal]

You might want to look at Tungsten (sp?) It''s shouldn''t scratch at all and is pretty indestructible.

 

[asscherisme]

If you want no maintance I would go with platinum. White gold, will turn a greyish yellowish over time or it will need to be replated.

My husband has platinum and we have been married 11 1/2 years and I love how the band looks. He started with gold and around 5 years when I got platinum I replaced his band with platinum. So he has had it about 6 1/2 years. Its definately worn but I think it looks great and he loves it.

Its a 5mm heavy comfort fit band. If you go with a simple comfort fit, you can always repolish if you choose to.

 

[diamondseeker2006]

I just have to correct the common misconception that 14k wg is harder/more durable than 18 k wg:

"The comments in your link are correct. The hardness of the final product is a more complicated question than the simple karatage of the metal. Properly worked, some alloys of 18k can be quite durable. For commercially cast type pieces, 14k yellow gold is usually more durable than 18k yellow gold. 18k white is usually more durable than 14k white."

Neil Beaty
GG(GIA) ISA NAJA
Professional Appraisals in Denver
Of the two choices, I''d certainly choose 18k wg because it will likely be more durable. Platinum appears to be triple the price, and it will also need maintenance since it will scratch. So teh 18k looks pretty good to me.

 

[Adylon]

Does rhodium plating get rid of scratches? No. All it does is plate what''s there to make it more white.

The design you choose looks like it has 3 wider bands of brushed metal seperated by 2 narrow bands of polished metal. In order to make that look like new they''d polish the ring and rebrush the 3 bands again. It''s a little complicated but not overly difficult to do. With white gold you''d have to add the additional step of getting it rhodium plated at the end. So your jeweler may charge you $20-40 to polish it, but another $30-60 to rhodium plate it as well afterwards (depending what they charge, I''m just guessing).

If you want something that looks like that but is more affordable, and more resistant to scratches, I''d consider a titanium-platinum combo. Get the brushed parts made in titanium and the polished parts in platinum. But get the whole ring polished instead. The titanium will have a naturally darker appearance and so you''ll still get that two tone contrasting look to the ring even though it''s all polished. And since the platinum on it is very thin it should be both affordable and very simple/inexpensive to get polished if it does scratch.