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Is Platinum More Durable Than White Gold?

Aurora43

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Oct 18, 2016
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I am a little uneducated when it comes to the durability of gold and platinum. From what I have always heard 18 kt gold is softer and less durable than 10 kt gold. I would like to have a ring that is made of platinum. Is platinum more durable than white gold?
 

diamondseeker2006

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Platinum will be around a lot longer than white gold (in terms of generations), because platinum wears away less than gold does. This is a good article to read:

https://www.victorcanera.com/education/jewelry/platinum-vs-gold

The biggest thing to remember about platinum is to avoid the most common, but softest alloy which is 95%plat/5%iridium.

The two alloys that are more scratch resistant are:

90%plat/10%iridium

95%platinum/5%ruthenium
 

Winks_Elf

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Something that is not mentioned in the article is the effects of chlorine on white gold, or that even yellow gold can have a problem with chlorine. If you plan to not take your rings off when swimming or cleaning, it is not advisable to get a white or yellow gold ring. Chlorine reacts with the alloys in white gold, making them brittle, and it is very easy to snap a prong. Specifically, chlorine is very damaging to the copper and nickel in the rings. White gold uses mostly nickel while yellow gold uses copper and silver as the alloys. The lower the karat on your gold, the more susceptible to the effects of chlorine your piece is.

If you've got city water, there is going to be chlorine in it. If you swim or use a hot tub, there's most likely chlorine in it. Many store bought cleaners and counter wipes have chlorine in them. This is something you want take into account when choosing the metal for your rings.
 

diamondseeker2006

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Great points, Melissa!!! :appl:
 

Diamond_Hawk

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Great info so far!

There is no easy answer here as each person may have differently priorities. Yes, 10K gold is more durable than 14K or 18K gold as it contains less gold. As gold is a soft metal, the less gold in the alloy, the less are the chances of scratches or dents on your jewelry. 10K gold is also the cheaper alternative but it is slightly paler than its counterparts and that's why you'll find most jewelry retailers offer 14K or 18K gold. If alloyed with nickel, the chances of allergy also increase with 10K. 


As for platinum and white gold, while platinum is the stronger of the two, with enough care, white gold can hold up to the challenges of daily wear fairly easily. You may need to touch up the rhodium plating once in a while to keep the white sheen. If allergies are a concern, platinum is more hypoallergenic as it is 90% to 95% pure.


Hope this helps you make a decision.
 

Winks_Elf

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Many jewelers offer 18kwg/Pal now. That's 18k white gold with palladium as the alloy instead of nickel. The benefit of this is first, hypoallergenic. Second, when the rhodium plating of your brand shiny ring wears off, instead of looking very yellowish, it keeps it whiter as palladium is in the platinum family.

My rings are filthy right now, but they are (closest to palm, going out towards finger tip) T&Co platinum (almost 5 years old) Vatche platinum (14 months old), and Vatche 18kwg/Pal (over 5 years old).

plat_plat_18k.jpg
 
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