Ideal White Gold : palladium ratio? She is allergic to nickel...

[Sinj]

I''ve seen some threads about using a palladium / gold alloy to make a great white gold. My question is, does anyone know what percentage of which metals to ask for? This is for an engagement ring.

I''ll be heading into the shop in a few days and would like to know what to ask for when I do this. Thanks.

 

[Garry H (Cut Nut)]

Jewellery that is made for the European market has by law a very low level of nickel.

If you deal with a custom designer they can ensure there is no nickel in the jewellery they make for you.

 

[finerthings]

Why not just go with platinum, it has no nickel.

 

[joe keller]

There are a lot of non nickel alloys out there, my personal fav is 19 kt white gold , looks just like platinum but holds a better polish, most high end custom manufactuers should have access to it.

 

[Sinj]

I hate to sound cheap, but I wasnt going to go with platinum because of my limited budget. I'm in college, and work to pay for an apartment...

19kt white gold? First I have heard of that. I was told by a jeweller that my best bet was 14kt white gold because it looks less yellow than 18kt white gold, seeing as how it has less gold in it.

I'll definitely ask though. And if the platinum price isnt too much higher, I suppose I can try to splurge.

 

[ame]

Ill also agree with Platinum. Im very allergic to nickel and every experience I had with white gold left me with a rash and frustration because of the insane upkeep to keeping it white. In the long run I find white gold MORE expensive than platinum.

 

[fancycoloredfan]

If platinum is not within your budget, go with palladium white gold - 14k should be fine. She shouldn't have any allergic reaction w/ the palladium.

 

[Hest88]

I was told by a jeweler in Canada that 19k white gold has nickel has a main alloy. I'd go with palladium if you can't do platinum.

14K? What kind of idiot jeweler told you that? Sure it'll look less yellow--because it probably contains more nickel. But it sure doesn't look anything like white gold or platinum.

 

[pearcrazy]

Check out the platinum settings on DirtCheap. I think you may be able to afford a simple six prong platinum setting for what you may spend to have a custom white gold setting made for.

I remember you having your oval diamond choices down to three. Which did you end up getting and are you pleased? I hope you'll post pictures when the ring is finished!

 

[Sinj]

Thanks for the replies everyone!

Hey pearcrazy

, I'm glad you remember me out of all these faces on the forum. I finally ordered one. I'll be wiring the money first thing tomorrow morning (check finally clearing...dont think I've ever wanted a weekend to hurry up and end, but this one certainly took forever!). It should be overnighted and will be here Wednesday morning! Here is a link to the stone I ordered.

I ordered this stone from DirtCheapDiamonds.com

I hope it is everything I want it to be..I was really torn between this one and another one. I will definitely be posting pictures when I get it! I cant wait.

As far as a simple six prong platinum setting, I'm going for a different look. I've narrowed it down to around 7 or 8 possible settings...but the final decision is going to be so tough.

I know she wants: A little antique-style engraving on the side (but most of the band smooth...no pave or stuff like that), a low-set diamond, a couple small sapphires (not necessarily sitting right beside the diamond) to accent the all-whiteness of the ring, and a little bit of curviness to make the ring sexy.

These are a couple of examples I found online to try to show what I want, but the ones I have picked out are actually from a store owned by a friend of my family (it is a small Mom and Pop store...literally) and I cant find ones online that match it.

I like the curvy look from the top, and the rest of the band is smooth...but no room for small sapphires maybe?

I like the engraving on the side, but other than that, there is not much I like about the setting.

I like the way those sapphires look! Anyone know what that type of cut is called? Cant be a baguette can it? Too pointy I would think. But the rest of the ring is too busy for my taste I think.

 

[pearcrazy]

I like the look of sapphires with the ring too. The second one with the round stones is lovely. Did the diamond come today? What do you think? Keep in mind that the diamond looks much larger when it is mounted!!

 

[mm]

This is from the world gold council site- shows that some Pd alloys still have Nickel:

Many commercial palladium white golds only contain about 6-8% palladium plus silver, zinc and copper. Some may even contain some nickel [so a palladium white gold is not necessarily nickel-free]. These may also have less than a good white colour and so may also be rhodium plated.

Palladium white golds tend to be softer and more ductile compared to nickel whites and so will not wear as well. They are available in all caratages up to 21 carat. It is not possible to have a 22 ct white gold, for example. Some typical compositions are given in Table7.

Typical Palladium Alloys

Gold% Pd% Ag% Cu% Zn% Ni% Hard (Hv) Liq (°C)
18ct 75 20 5 - - - 100 1350
75 15 10 - - - 100 1300
75 10 15 - - - 80 1250
75 10 10.5 3.5 0.1 0.9 95 1150
75 6.4 9.9 5.1 3.5 1.1 140 1040
75 15 - 3.0 - 7.0 180 1150
14ct 58.3 20 6 14.5 1 - 160 1095
58.5 5 32.5 3 1 - 100 1100
10ct 41.7 28 8.4 20.5 1.4 - 160 1095
9ct 37.5 - 52 4.9 4.2 1.4 85 940

Pd- palladium; Ag- silver; Cu - copper; Zn - zinc, Ni - nickel.

Alternative white golds

In the European Union especially, there is a demand for cheaper alternatives to white golds than the palladium whites which are nickel-free. Many new alloys are coming to market, most of which rely on manganese additions as the main whitener. Some are palladium-free and others are low palladium alloys. Chromium and iron are also be used as whiteners. They tend to be hard and more difficult to process. Many of these alloys are not a good white colour, requiring rhodium plating, and many suffer cracking problems and tarnishing.