I''m confused about setting metals and malleability

[raindog101]

Hi all. So I''ve lurked on the site for a while to educate myself on all things engagement rings, and I just joined up cuz I''m hoping you can help me answer some questions about settings and metals.

I''ve been looking into both platinum and WG settings for awhile now but I''m a little unclear on something. I''ve heard it said by some that platinum is more malleable than WG and by others that it''s the other way around. What I want to know is First off, which is more malleable? And second, how does this actually factor in to how the ring will wear over time?

Does one keeps its shape better over time and how important is this? I really like pave settings and I''m wondering how, if at all, malleability plays into the ability of the ring to hold diamonds (both side and center stones). Are there any common issues I should be aware of? Also, which would you say is better for holding diamonds in general? Thanks in advance!

 

[yssie]

I would say plat. is more malleable. Wg is "stronger" in that it''s less likely to bend on impact, which is a bad thing - upon impact you want the metal in your prongs to curve around but still protect your diamond, rather than snap right off. 14k wg is more brittle than 18k.


Because of this greater tendency to ''bend'', I would think wg would keep its shape better over time. How it ''wears'' is up to the wearer and the wearer''s definition - the plat. surface will get scratched and form a patina much more quickly/easily than a wg surface, but when you polish you lose more gold than you do plat.

 

[yssie]

http://journal.pricescope.com/Articles/47/1/An-Overview-Of-Common-Alloys-Used-In-Jewelry.aspx


A nice article

 

[raindog101]

Thanks for the helpful info and article. So as I understand it then, platinum is more long-wearing and more malleable/less brittle than WG, which makes it the securer option for holding a center stone. But what about the side stones in say a pave setting, which aren''t being held in place by prongs? Are they securer in plat. or WG?